Hong Kong’s Chief Executive said on Tuesday that a total containment of the city, like what is done in China, will not be implemented to stem the unprecedented wave of contamination with the Omicron variant. .
Since the start of the pandemic, Hong Kong has adhered to mainland China’s “zero Covid” policy.
But since the appearance at the end of December of the first cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant, the number of contaminations has skyrocketed and screening, quarantine and hospital capacities are overwhelmed.
To date, no country in the world, with the exception of China, has managed to return to zero Covid cases after the appearance of cases of the Omicron variant.
To achieve this goal, the Chinese government confines entire cities as soon as a first case appears, prohibiting residents from leaving their homes.
“We have no plans to impose a full and general lockdown on the city of Hong Kong,” she told a news conference.
She, however, ruled out calls from some experts and business figures to move from a zero-Covid policy to a mitigation strategy.
“We must continue to fight this battle against the epidemic. Laying down our arms in the face of the virus is not an option”.
The authorities intend to continue to confine certain districts, the time to screen all the inhabitants of the buildings where cases have been recorded, she specified.
People wait to be tested for Covid-19 on February 15, 2022 in Hong Kong.
© AFP – Peter PARKS
Like mainland China, Hong Kong has maintained a very low level of contamination thanks to draconian restrictions on entry to the territory, tracing of cases and massive screening.
But with more than 2,000 cases recorded on Monday, and more than a thousand at the end of last week, the zero-Covid policy is under severe test.
Hong Kong researchers have estimated that the number of daily cases could exceed 28,000 by the end of March.
Prior to the current surge, Hong Kong was placing those who tested positive in solitary confinement in dedicated facilities, but beds in hospitals and a large temporary facility have reached peak occupancy.
AFP journalists saw patients lying on stretchers outside two hospitals in the city on Tuesday.
People considered to be contact cases are now invited to isolate themselves at home.
Lam said 3,000 newly built social housing units will be used to place people in quarantine and that she is seeking to add 10,000 hotel rooms to this arrangement.
Last week, huge queues formed outside testing centers and many people who tested positive said they had been turned away from hospitals.
Ms. Lam said that 100 million antigen tests have been purchased and one million will be distributed daily to people at risk.
Patients wait outside near police in full protective suits outside Pok Oi Hospital in Hong Kong on February 15, 2022.
© AFP – Peter PARKS
Last week, supermarket shelves were taken over by locals who feared a shortage of fresh produce.
Hong Kong imports most of its food from mainland China, and vegetable prices have soared due to a disruption in supply after several truck drivers tested positive.
The chief executive said on Tuesday that her administration is recruiting more cross-border drivers and that the possibility of supplying the city by sea is being considered.
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