Thousands of medical workers in Hong Kong are striking.

The public health system in Hong Kong is now exposed to unprecedented risks, as 4,400 medical workers walked off from their jobs on Tuesday, the second day of their five-day strike. They are demanding the government to close all check-points with the mainland, something that the special administrative region's (SAR) chief executive Carrie Lam explicitly rejected, citing advice given by the World Health Organization not to do so.

The strain on Hong Kong's public health system was immediately felt. With over 100 staff from accident and emergency departments across public hospitals absent, the departments can only handle really urgent cases. 

On Wednesday morning, patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have to stand in an one hour line to get emergency services. Officials are not ruling out the possibility of closing some of them in the coming days. Other departments most affected include the oncology divisions, meaning the treatments for some cancer patients could be delayed. 

Last but not least, the neonatal wards have also been affected. In one hospital on Monday, there was only one nurse left to look after 22 newborn babies. Hospital Authority has been asking citizens with mild illnesses to tap into private hospitals for help.

All these consequences from the strike coincides with the annual flu season, inundating Hong Kong hospitals with patients needing immediate care. 

"We are doing this to protect Hong Kong's public health," claimed the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, who launched the strike, believing only a complete border closure can "save Hong Kong." The validity of such assessment is up for debate.

Do the ends justify the means? Not all Hong Kongers share the same belief. On Sunday ahead of the strike, a group of Hong Kong residents gathered in front of the Hospital Authority Building to denounce the strike, calling it unethical, especially in times of such extreme public health challenges. 

"Politics have no place in hospitals. No matter if you're against any government, you shouldn't go on strike", said one resident. A nurses union also held a press conference urging medical workers not to strike, saying more attention should be put toward combating the coronavirus outbreak. 

"There are different voices in the industry. Striking now will impact the disease combatting campaigns in public hospitals and cause public panic," said Wong Ho, a former member of the Nursing Council of Hong Kong.

"It's more about politics than true concerns for public health," said one resident at Sunday's anti-strike rally. 

The newly-formed Hospital Authority Employees Alliance was born out of the months long anti-government protests, with words like "fighting tyranny" prominently featured on the Facebook description page of this medical industry union, obviously established out of political motivation.