Health

One thing I have noticed that is different in Hong Kong from the US is how publicly focused they are on not getting sick.  In Hong Kong, if you are sick it is polite to wear a mask so you don't infect others around you.  (LOVE this idea).  Also, many of the things that people touch regularly (elevator buttons, door handles) have signs on them saying how many times a day they are disinfected.  Many of the exhibits at the Science Museum had signs saying how many times a day the area was cleaned.  They closed the play area with the foam blocks while we were there and there were a couple ladies with rags and bottles of cleaner, wiping down all the sides of all the blocks.  An area like that in the US would probably get cleaned rarely to never.

Also, we have entered Hong Kong twice since we have been here.  (We had to leave and re-enter to validate our visas.)  Both times, they have taken Charlotte's temperature with a forehead scanner before entering.  (Both times were late at night and she had just woken up and was crying.  Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were red.)  Tommy, Charlotte and I all had to get our temperature taken before we could go in the playroom at one of the play places we visited.  Also, many of the play places are strict about wearing socks and adults have to take their shoes off too.  (I think this a great idea, at a lot of the play places in St. Louis, the kids are running around in socks between slides or bounce houses in the same places where adults are wearing their shoes which have all the outside dirt on them.  After a while, the kids socks are probably just as dirty as their shoes would have been.)  There are also signs up everywhere about how to prevent the spread of illness (cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, dispose of tissues in trash cans with lids, wash your hands regularly, etc.) and not feeding birds to help prevent avian flu.