After being the early epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, China now appears to have contained the outbreak. The majority of the new cases now are imported. Meanwhile, other countries in recent weeks continue to experience spikes in the number of confirmed cases.

The number of new cases has dwindled dramatically on the Chinese mainland, with only a handful of domestic patients each day. The improvement can be attributed to the fact that the mainland has taken swift and effective action to close its borders to foreigners.

Since Friday it has banned entry to all foreigners, including non-nationals with valid visas and residence permits. This measure has proved to be effective in curbing the number of imported cases.

Other successful measures include the reduction of international flights and limiting the passenger capacity to 75 percent of each flight.

On the same day that the travel ban was implemented, the mainland reported only one local case in three days while 54 were new imported ones.

Taking swift action to limit the number of people arriving from infection hotspots is definitely vital.

Of course, we need the government to shore up the economy as much as possible, but let us not forget that everyone has a role to play in this game of collective survival, Legislative Council members and political parties included

By contrast, in recent weeks many countries, like the United States, Italy and Spain, are experiencing active COVID-19 community transmissions.

The US is now leading the tally table with more than 187,300 cases and over 3,800 deaths; Italy has nearly 105,700 cases and 12,430 deaths; while Spain has more than 94,400 cases and over 8,180 deaths.

In comparison, the Chinese mainland has 82,724 cases and 3,327 deaths.

Many critics have been casting doubts over the integrity or accuracy of the figures released by China. Some even compared the current situation with the seasonal flu in the US last year, claiming that COVID-19 could have been the cause, or there might have been a link between the two.

Such conspiracy theories are at best their conjecture. China will never be able to prove that it did not cover up or whitewash the situation. But common sense and impartial judgment should be allowed to prevail. Several phenomena can be looked at to shed some light on the situation.

One obvious occurrence is that both before and after the Hong Kong SAR government announced measures in early February to quarantine all travelers entering from the mainland for 14 days, thousands of Hong Kong residents rushed back to the city, yet not many returnees tested positive.

Secondly, the Hong Kong SAR government has so far brought back on chartered flights hundreds of Hong Kong people from Hubei province. Again, only a few among these returnees had come down with COVID-19.

If we compare this with the number of confirmed cases among those returning from other countries, including the tens of thousands of students coming back from the United Kingdom, the picture should be clear enough.

Basically, it confirms that the situation is under control on the mainland.

Another noteworthy observation is that there is a huge population of Hong Kong people working, studying or retiring on the mainland. While there is no compulsory registration, the figure often cited is about 300,000. Not all of them have returned to Hong Kong after the outbreak. In fact, many have opted to stay put.

If there were cover-ups, I am certain many among this huge population of Hongkongers on the mainland would have contracted COVID-19, and their problem would have been prominently featured in the Hong Kong media. So far, we haven’t heard such news.

From this we can certainly get an impression that the situation in the mainland is so far, fingers crossed, reassuring. Of course, as I say above, China’s detractors in Hong Kong and elsewhere will never be convinced. But then, who could convince the same detractors that no one got killed by Hong Kong police in the Prince Edward MTR station?

Meanwhile, we need to caution those returning from overseas, especially young people, to be extra cautious. If they have been asked to remain in self-isolation, they must abide by this one simple rule.

Many have flouted the quarantine rules over the past weeks; some cut off their tracking wristbands and some even went out to eat. Self-discipline is important during these trying times because it is not just one’s own life that is at stake, but the lives of everyone in the community.

A leading health expert, microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, warned that the public has become complacent about personal hygiene, which was part of the cause of a significant jump in the number of cases in recent days.

Yuen said it is of utmost importance for us to stop the spread in the community. As a medical doctor, I could not agree more.

His warning came as the number of cases in the city jumped to over 700 from just over 350 on March 23.

Hong Kong has been battered first by anti-government protests since June, and now the pandemic, which began in January. Our economy, and the retail and restaurant sectors in particular, are among the hardest hit. Many outlets are expected to close their doors for the last time.

Even the popular local cha chaan teng chain Tsui Wah has closed its Central flagship branch until further notice.

All indicators of our economic well-being are going south. There is as yet no light at the end of this very dark tunnel.

Of course, we need the government to shore up the economy as much as possible, but let us not forget that everyone has a role to play in this game of collective survival, Legislative Council members and political parties included. A few days ago, the “pan-democratic” parties hosted a press conference to launch their rallying call — to strike for the majority of seats in the LegCo election scheduled for September. And they publicly said that they would use their majority — the first ever in Hong Kong’s history of LegCo elections — to veto all government motions and block the government’s applications for funds. These “pan-democrats’’, who seem to know almost nothing about managing an economy, may not be aware that they are threatening to add the last straw on the Hong Kong camel’s back.

The author is president of Wisdom Hong Kong, a think tank.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.