This time last year, the world started to become aware of a new virus spreading in one region of China, which was already taking steps to contain it. One of the first widely publicized iterations of measures to guard against the virus in the entertainment world was probably the late January cancellation of Cantopop star Andy Lau’s 12-show run of concerts in Hong Kong in February.
"Sorry about this," Lau wrote on his website. "I wish that everyone will remain healthy, and that we get through this difficulty together."
Other concerts in the region were promptly canceled as the burgeoning epidemic interfered with logistics: Freight and travel restrictions enacted in China made it impossible for tours to fulfill their production requirements. Two of Hong Kong's biggest tourist attractions, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park, closed, even though the number of infections in the territory was still modest. The virus was already having a significant effect on the region's economies, which depended in part on large groups of people gathering in the same place at the same time.