General Perceptions of Citizens on Anti-Coronavirus Pandemic Measures: The Case of Hong Kong

The fears in related to the threats of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were spreading wide and far since its outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019. COVID-19 was declared to be a Public Health Emergency if International Concern by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on 30th January 2020 and subsequently announced as a pandemic on 11th March. As of 16 April, there were more than 2.08 million confirmed cases and over 134 thousand deaths reported. The general public’s and governments’ reactions to the pandemic are diverse. Owing to the lack of knowledge about the disease and the rapid development of cases, anxiety and certain level of disorders / unrest were recorded. This paper intended to document some of the critical incidents in Hong Kong and report findings related to the publics’ perceptions, actions and reactions to the outbreak. Data was collected through direct observation and discussions with the key respondents. Result seems to indicate that general public is likely to


Introduction
Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease is infectious disease by a newly discovered corona virus. The first identified human case was As of 23rd April, the total confirmed cases and deaths worldwide were 2,637,681 and 184,219 respectively World meters [1]. The United States alone, has over 852k confirmed cases and over 47k deaths. According to the WHO, the virus can be transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales WHO [2]. There is no verified cure or preventive vaccine.
These droplets are too heavy to hang in the air, and quickly fall on floors or surfaces. You can be infected by breathing in the virus if you are within close proximity of someone who has COVID-19, or by touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth.
Despite the fatality rate of COVIN-19 (6.98%) is much lower than that of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 (14-15%) WHO [3] and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012 (35%) WHO [4], the rapid and wide spreading of the disease induced public's concern. The situation worsens and triggered civil unrest. The fear among the general public continued with acute escalation, which results in sudden hype of demand for protective face mask, hand sanitizer and other cleaning detergents.
It also aroused strong sentiments against the governments. There is critical gap in the body of knowledge in related the development of public crisis and the motivation behind civilian's actions. This study intended to provide some insights through an initial summary of the pandemic COVID-19 and the development of the related fear among and actions by the general public through the case of Hong Kong. It also aimed at unveiling the potential attributes that lead to the anti-government sentiments. The article concludes with administrative strategies, rather than the medical measures, for mediating public fears.

Research Objectives
The research objectives of this paper include: To provide a timeline on the development of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong and the responding measures by the HKSAR Government;

2.
To identify the potential attributes that lead to the sentiments of the public over the SAR Government in this regards; and 3.
To provide recommendations on the prevention and management of crisis. commissioned a poll of about 850 local people. Seven in ten contended that they should take the full credit for winning the battle against COVID-19 Cheung [11]. (Table 1)

Findings and Discussions
• There is genuine fear during the outbreak of the COVID-19.
The major reasons for the fear can be summarized into three major groups.
• First, the pandemic seems to be severe both in terms of its spreading magnitude and the impacts on health. The prior experience that Hong Kong people have in the cases of SARS and MERS seem to leave them with the post-traumatic stress and anxiety over transmittable diseases. Some have expressed that the experience learnt through SARS and MERS provide critical inputs for combating the novel COVID-19. This, however, seems to be shared only among a small minority.
• Second, the incapability of Government and its health related departments in providing effective measures. Some respondents criticized the Government's gradual approach to locking down the territory was one of the major causes for the pandemic and government should bear the blame for not protecting the public's health. For example, they demand the Government to close the borders with the mainland but Government has failed to answer the request. Some others complained that many of the government's measures were too drastic and imposed heavy damages to the people. Of which, the government should be ashamed of its inconsiderate. While there arguments seem to be contradicting, some respondents concerted both.
• Third, the lack of reliable sources of supplies and medical services. The supplies of protective gears were limited especially during the early phases of the outbreak. Although the government has proactively sourcing for supplies, their effects seem to be in vain. It is then followed by the protest and strike of the medical workers. Many of the respondents lost their confidence that they will receive ample and good quality medical services.
• The fear escalated when there were rumors that rice, toilet paper and other staples will be in shortage. While the SAR Government has made several announcements regarding there are stable supplies and abundant inventory of these commodities with the testimonials from trade parties, it failed in preventing citizens to panic purchases of goods.
• The researcher has the perception that the feelings and opinions of the respondents were not grounded with factual knowledge but derived from emotions and unconfirmed information. The research, therefore, attempts to unveil the influences that the respondents have received and their mechanism in assessing and accepting information. Results revealed that many of the respondents were sensitive to the related information but not particularly keen on scrutinizing the credibility of those sources.
They tends to be more exceptive to negative information than their positive counterpart. In other words, a message saying that the pandemic is worsening is easier to believe that the message that the situation has been improving. This could be explaining partially by the negativity bias among subject. do not seem to have much effectiveness. It is also worthy to note that some newspapers and/or broadcasting stations admitted that their reports were sometimes based on hearsay. b Their news stories, therefore, can be constructed in a misleading way.

Conclusion
As a conclusion, it is obvious that there are critical gaps in communication which lead to the conflicts and confrontation between the Government and some of the local people. This has critically affected the effectives of some measure on the mitigating measures. It also jeopardized the harmony amongst local communities. The local influencers in particularly the press, politicians and opinion leaders would have a critical part to play.
Their influences are sometime even more critical than those coming from authoritative medical experts.
In order to rectify the situation and to improve the governance effectiveness, better communication is essential in minimizing