John Carney, who is a journalist with the South China Morning Post newspaper, has worked in the Asian city for 16 years. But despite being on China’s doorstep where the outbreak originated, he believes it’s one of the safest places to be living in.

“The precautions are definitely working here. After the Sars outbreak of 2003 when 299 people died in Hong Kong, the authorities knew they did not have a contingency plan for this kind of outbreak,” Carney, 50, says.

“It meant Hong Kong was prepared this time around. We’d been down this road before and knew what had to be done. Hard as it is to believe, Hong Kong has a population of nearly 7.5 million, but has so far had just 1,025 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and four deaths.”

Strict controls have been brought in at Hong Kong’s borders. Anyone arriving from mainland China or a country with Covid-19 cases has to go into quarantine for 14 days. Schools are closed and people are encouraged to work from home, while the majority of the population are wearing masks and using hand sanitisers daily.

Fellow Irvinestown man Paul McGarrity has lived in Hong Kong for six years and works as a  Manager for Eclipse Hospitality Group. His industry in particular has been badly affected in recent months and many outlets face financial ruin.

“Obviously the food and beverage industry has taken a hit here. We have nine outlets in Hong Kong and one in Macau. 

“Other businesses have had to close, but we have implemented all the precautionary safety measures asked by the government at our places and they are all doing OK,” McGarrity, 34, explains.

“It’s a worrying time for everyone – not just for health reasons but also because of the pressure it has put on businesses. Hopefully now we are over the worst of it.”

Kevin Cassidy from Ederney is currently Operations Manager of The Jockey bar in Happy Valley, and has been working in the city for over two years.

Cassidy, 35, a former senior footballer with Ederney GAA club, was supposed to go back to Fermanagh this month to be a groomsman at former clubmate Peter Gormley’s wedding, but because of the travel restrictions due to Covid-19 he had to cancel his trip.

“It’s disappointing not to get home. I’ve known Peter since I was 10 or 11 years old and we played football together for years,” Cassidy says. “I haven’t been back home since I got here, so I was looking forward to it, but I’m not the only one who has had to change their travel plans because of what’s happened.”