Hong Kong authorities, faced with an unprecedented rise in covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, said Friday that they were going to test the city’s 7.5 million people and that the choice of the next Chief Executive will be postponed.
“One of the measures that we are preparing, and very seriously, is a mandatory universal test,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a news conference, referring to the “critical situation” in the city.
Mass testing of the population is routinely practiced in mainland China, whose authorities observe a “zero covid” policy that sometimes leads them to lock down entire cities for weeks.
However, Lam ruled out the possibility of confining Hong Kong, a measure that is difficult to apply in a city whose population density is one of the highest in the world and where housing is often meager and shared.
In February, authorities tightened restrictions to fight the virus. Gatherings of more than two people in public places are prohibited. Since January, bars and restaurants must close at 6:00 p.m. and cinemas, museums, sports halls and other entertainment venues have suspended their activity.
On the other hand, Lam reported that the appointment of the next Hong Kong chief executive, initially scheduled for March, has been postponed to May 8. It is unknown if Lam, who has led the city since 2017, will seek a second term.
The moment is politically sensitive for Hong Kong. The Chinese government has imposed a national security law that criminalizes all forms of dissent, as well as new rules to ensure that only pro-Beijing “patriots” can hold political office.
The postponement is “in line with what President Xi Jinping has expressed in his important instructions that we must make epidemic control our top priority,” he said.
Earlier this week, the Chinese leader urged Hong Kong to take “all necessary measures” to curb the pandemic.
The Chinese government’s “zero covid” strategy includes a several-week quarantine on arrival in the country, even for passengers from Hong Kong.
But the networks of smugglers between the semi-autonomous territory and mainland China allow it to be circumvented.
Chinese cities are now offering thousands of dollars in rewards for any tip about illegal entries from Hong Kong, following the discovery of illegal immigrants who have tested positive for the coronavirus in mainland China.
overflowing hospitals
Having registered just over 12,000 cases of covid-19 in the first two years of the pandemic at the cost of draconian isolation, Hong Kong is currently facing an exponential progression of the virus linked to the highly contagious omicron variant.
More than 11,000 new cases were recorded on Friday alone, after 12,000 on Thursday, and the hospital system was completely overwhelmed in a matter of days.
With no rooms available, dozens of patients were forced to wait for hours on beds or plastic chairs outside hospitals.
Authorities have commandeered vacant hotels and social housing to isolate patients with few or no symptoms, and are planning to build makeshift hospitals.
Between now and March, Hong Kong could reach 300,000 infections a day, according to health experts.
On the other hand, charities denounced on Friday that many domestic workers have been “abandoned” by their employers after contracting covid-19. Some are forced to sleep on the streets or are even denied medical care. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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