Hong Kong: counting the health cost

Abstract

Civil unrest in Hong Kong, stemming from the introduction of a controversial extradition bill, has been marked by fierce conflict between protestors and law enforcement, along with extensive use of weapons, including tear gas and water cannons. As the unrest continues, the effects of ongoing violence on the health of the population of Hong Kong should be urgently examined. Violent clashes with police have resulted in a wave of physical injuries. Some injured police have alleged bias and poor treatment from public hospitals. Among the civilian population, doctors are concerned about the number of head injuries from batons and rubber bullets. In The Lancet, Darren Mann has described the fear of being arrested while receiving first aid. A World Report this week describes growing tensions between doctors and police, including in hospitals. The combination of violence and the breakdown of trust in the public medical-care service has led to a surge in undocumented and untreated injuries, particularly in Hong Kong's youth. Concerns are also growing about exposure to chemical hazards in Hong Kong's densely populated urban landscape. Tear gas, a chemical weapon with respiratory and ophthalmic effects, has been used extensively, and is reported to have seeped into public and residential buildings, including at least one hospital. Potentially toxic by-products from petrol bombs or burning tyres and unknown irritants in water cannons have unknown health effects. Without understanding a weapon's composition or the risks, doctors are unsure how to manage exposure or whether to recommend any public health measures. Exposure of the population to violence on this scale is also likely to have mental health effects. The harms from the conflict could do long-term damage to the health of the people of Hong Kong, and stoke further unrest. A systematic, transparent, and robust documentation of the health impacts of these events is necessary not only to calculate and manage the currently unknown health effects, but also to rebuild trust. Tensions grow between Hong Kong police and medicsHealth workers involved in treating protesters are reported to have been targeted by police. Shawn Yuan reports from Hong Kong. Full-Text PDF International humanitarian norms are violated in Hong KongOn the night of Nov 17, 2019, I was embedded within one of a few medical teams providing emergency care to injured protesters engaged in violent confrontation with police at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. All emergency medical workers were wearing high-visibility vests with prominent Red Cross insignia, helmets with Red Cross markings, gas masks, and air-tight eye protection (the latter two measures against the large amounts of tear gas customarily encountered in these protests). Full-Text PDF