Health workers in Hong Kong on Wednesday began storing the bodies of those killed by covid-19 in refrigerated containers due to a lack of space in morgues, due to a sharp increase in infections attributed to the omicron variant.
Hong Kong has been hit in recent months by a deadly outbreak of the coronavirus that has overwhelmed its health system and caused a wave of deaths, especially among the elderly population who have refused to be vaccinated.
In the last three months, since the appearance of the contagious omicron variant, the city has registered almost a million infections and 4,600 deaths.
A representative of the funeral sector told local media that the increase in deaths has exhausted the availability of coffins.
The head of the local government, Carrie Lam, acknowledged the situation at a press conference and assured that two shipments of coffins from mainland China will soon arrive.
“We will try to find a way for the family to recover the body so that they can organize the funeral soon. The crematoria (…) have also been working at full capacity,” Lam said.
closed beaches
The ruler of the Chinese autonomous city also announced the closure of most of its beaches, after photos of residents without a mask enjoying the sun and the sea generated outrage in mainland China.
The measure is in addition to strict social distancing provisions, including the use of masks when walking in the mountains and the prohibition of congregating more than two people.
“Seeing an increase in people on the beaches, we have to take the appropriate measures to protect our system, reduce travel to ensure safety,” Lam said.
The authorities indicated that they will begin Thursday to cordon off the beaches.
Many Chinese expressed their anger on social networks, considering that the covid outbreak in mainland China is due to Hong Kong’s weak response to the coronavirus.
The city has not imposed a general confinement despite the sharp increase in infections.
On the contrary, tens of millions of people in China are confined after detecting more than 3,000 infections a day in recent days.
The technological pole Shenzhen, a city of 17 million inhabitants bordering Hong Kong, was confined on Monday after detecting cases of covid-19 in factories and neighborhoods.
“How can they be so careless and go to the beach when Shenzhen is closed? It’s selfish,” claimed a user on the Chinese social network Weibo.
Researchers believe that the infection rate in Hong Kong could be higher than official figures indicate, reaching half of its 7.4 million inhabitants. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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