What happens when 11 hamsters in a pet shop in Hong Kong test positive for the Delta variant of Covid, along with a worker in the shop?
If you have been reading news from the city in the past couple of days, you’ll already know the answer. The plan is to euthanise 2,000 of the mammals from dozens of pet shops across Hong Kong, in a bid to stamp out any transmission of the virus to humans. And anyone who recently visited the shop must go into quarantine immediately.
The government’s logic on the move against hamsters defeats me, given the sheer lack of evidence around animals playing a big role in human contagion.
But what worries me most is what may be next on the cards.
Traveling from Hong Kong is out of the question already, unless you’re willing to stomach three weeks of quarantine on your return (or if you’re Nicole Kidman). Dining out is banned from 6pm. Secondary schools are being closed due to a handful of cases. At the same time, every day I hear more about the growing number of expats, including many of my old banking colleagues, leaving the city in favour of better pastures.
And now the authorities are going after the hamsters.
While I’m not ready to call it quits on Hong Kong just yet, the signs do seem ominous to me. I will ponder on the future during my (early afternoon) drinks at the Captain’s Bar — where I will drink to the poor hamsters.