When Beijing-based banker Peter Ling-Vannerus landed in Hong Kong this month, he was given a stark choice: spend 14 days in quarantine or hop straight back on a flight and leave the city.

He opted to spend time in Thailand rather than be confined in Hong Kong. Mr Ling-Vannerus’ experience is typical of the thousands of international bankers, investors and lawyers who live in what is normally one of the world’s busiest regions for dealmaking and business travel.

Since the deadly coronavirus erupted in January, scores of bankers and their families have fled mainland China and Hong Kong to work in offices elsewhere in Asia. In the process, their often luxurious expatriate lives have been disrupted, with international schools shut and domestic helpers unable to follow them to third countries.