‘I feel 1,000 times safer in Hong Kong than in UK’

A DUNDEE te ac he r living in Hong Kong says the UK needs to take coronavirus more seriously.

Gair Anderson, from Menzieshill, has lived in Hong Kong for the last three years but fears he won’t be able to take a trip home any time soon.

The 27-year-old, who teaches at Anchors International nursery school, said: “I feel 1,000 times safer here than I would going home, which is crazy.”

It was announced on Friday that anyone arriving in Hong Kong from certain European countries would enter into a period of quarantine.

Gair said: “I was supposed to come home on Monday.

“My mum works in Ninewells, which is obviously a concern, and my sister works as a GP in England. Two months ago I was worried for my safety –

I’m only a four-hour train journey from Wuhan.”

The virus, which has now affected more than 170,000 people across the world, including 18 confirmed cases in Tayside, was first connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.

Gair said: “Two months ago things escalated quite badly. People were buying toilet roll, sanitiser and panic buying.”

Gair, a massive fan of the Dark Blues who often travels home for matches, added: “I never thought it would get to the point two months ago when I was concerned for me and my friends over here, that I would end up being more concerned for my family in Dundee.

“People need to start taking it seriously. I have seen it here, I have seen what happens. People need to get their finger out.

“I think the penny started to drop at the weekend. But panic buying isn’t the answer either. People should realise it takes effort from everybody.

“I’m not sure how effective masks are in stopping people from getting infected but they do stop the person wearing it spreading their own germs.”

Coronavirus forced the closure of Gair’s nursery for more than two months.

“I work for a private school and because the kids haven’t been coming in, we have had to take a pay cut which isn’t ideal.”

Gair added he is hopeful the schools will reopen next month and says some local authority facilities have already started to open again.

He said: “There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.”

For Gair, who has not seen his Scottish relatives for a year, that end cannot come soon enough. “I want to see my family,” he added.

Gair has frequently travelled from Hong Kong to watch his beloved Dundee FC play.