HONG KONG (NYTIMES) - The two Hong Kong protesters were dressed head to toe in black, their faces covered in masks. They smashed their Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a public housing estate, and flames and smoke began spewing out.

This was no scene from the protest violence last yearover Beijing's dominance of Hong Kong's affairs. This was on Sunday (Jan 26), and the firebombing was incited by anger over the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China - and plans by the Hong Kong government to use the unoccupied housing block as a quarantine area.