Hong Kong expats turn to Covid tweeter to track city’s outbreak

While scientists and health journalists around the world found fame during the pandemic on social media as people desperately sought out timely and clear information, interest in @tripperhead in Hong Kong has come amid patchy and inconsistent government public health policy and communication. — Bloomberg

Amid what is the deadliest Covid-19 outbreak in the world right now, and government policies that change day to day, a stay-at-home dad from Western Australia has unexpectedly emerged as the go-to source of information for Hong Kong’s expatriate population, and even doctors.

The Twitter account @tripperhead, which has amassed over 22,000 followers – many more than accounts belonging to local public health experts and government Covid advisers – provides a regular stream of information on the pandemic in Hong Kong. It live-tweets news from government briefings, summarises insights from medical experts and tracks the frenetically changing travel rules that continue to keep the city isolated from much of the world.