The reaction to videos showing Hong Kong celebrities socialising with top police officers shows how the coronavirus outbreak has taken centre stage in netizens' minds.

In the recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong, stars Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang and Alan Tam had been lambasted for their support of the police, with officers seen as taking a too-tough stand against protesters.

But when videos of the three stars dining and singing with police staff in a restaurant on Sunday (Feb 16) surfaced, the anger from netizens this time was linked to the Covid-19 hazard, reported the Hong Kong Free Press.

They asked why the dinner participants were not wearing masks.

In the videos, Hong Kong police chief Chris Tang drew laughs in the restaurant when he said he learnt how to be a policeman from actors who had starred in police films.

Chan, for example, rolled out Police Story in 1985 and New Police Story in 2004.

Mr Tang also said: "Do you know why I was so good at speaking at District Council meetings? Because I learnt from Eric's comedy shows."

Mr Tang jokingly accused singer Tam of stealing his wife's heart, saying: "I hate you very much, Alan, because my wife loves you more than she loves me."

But he turned serious when he said the support from celebrities can serve only to motivate the police to discharge their duties, however challenging the tasks are.

The dinner was hosted by Sun Hei Sports Club and Hong Kong Movie Star Sports Association after matches between their teams and a police side.

A police spokesman said no public funds were used for the dinner where Chan, Tam and Tsang also teamed up with police officers to sing songs.

But while many netizens raised the Covid-19 safety issue in responding to the dinner news, some took umbrage at the appearance of one person at the event.

He is retired superintendent Frankly Chu, who was jailed for three months in 2018 for hitting a bystander with a baton during Hong Kong's Occupy Central protests in 2014.