The rapid increase in corona infections in Hong Kong threatens to overwhelm the metropolis’ medical resources. Prime Minister Carrie Lam said the Chinese central government had announced aid for the special administrative region. She defended the strict corona restrictions imposed by Hong Kong authorities, which have adopted mainland China’s “zero tolerance” approach to dealing with the pandemic.
“So far, our measures to contain the disease are legitimate and valid,” Lam told reporters. The problem is the scale, pace and severity of the fifth wave. “It is beyond our capacity.” The Chinese central government is working to improve capacity in various areas of disease control, Lam said. However, she ruled out imposing a lockdown on Hong Kong, as has been done in Chinese cities.
The city reported a record 2,071 new infections on Monday. That number was expected to double on Tuesday as more than 4,500 preliminary positive tests had already been identified.
Lam added that authorities wanted to designate new public housing that has not yet been occupied and around 10,000 hotel rooms as quarantine stations. In Hong Kong, people with a confirmed corona infection must isolate themselves. In addition, strict measures apply: Personal meetings are limited to a maximum of two households, shopping malls and supermarkets are only allowed to enter vaccinated people, places of worship, hair salons and other shops have been closed. Classes in schools have been suspended until March 6th.