Hong Kong Faces Another COVID Outbreak as 4.5 Million Residents Test Positive

While several countries have been slowly recovering from COVID-19 infection and getting back to their feet despite still having cases, some cities such as Hong Kong are currently struggling to contain new waves.

The Independent UK reported that Hong Kong has been in a "grip of spiraling outbreak" after having nearly half of its population get infected with coronavirus.

It's not something we haven't seen before, but the Chinese city and special administrative region had reached an "overwhelming" stage, with a fifth wave sweeping the city since December end last year.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are "swamped" with COVID-19 patients and morgues are "at a breaking point". University of Hong Kong researchers estimate that the total number of people to get infected with the infection as the wave ends in March will reach 4.5 million cases out of 7.4 million total population.

According to the researchers, over 5,000 people are expected to die from COVID-19 by 1 May.

China's Biggest Problem

HK Sees Soaring Infections Amid Zero-covid Policy — HONG KONG, CHINA - FEBRUARY 16: Patients lay in beds as they wait at a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre on February 16, 2022 in Hong Kong, China. Health authorities confirm a new daily record of 4285 infections while near a record high of 7000 people tested preliminary positive. At least 10,000 infected people are waiting to be admitted to Hong Kong hospitals as cases overwhelm the public health care system. Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Hong Kong has officially become China's biggest problem after keeping the virus mostly at bay for nearly two years, according to NBC News. "We have so much lead time and experience, but still we have to suffer from a health care system breakdown," said Calvin Kong, an emergency physician at a public hospital. "Health authorities have not learned a lesson after two years."

Hong Kong has so far recorded about 790,000 Covid infections and around 5,000 deaths in the past three weeks. Despite following the strict "zero-Covid" strategy of mainland China, deaths in the city had continued to spike.

According to local reports, 59% of the total deaths are unvaccinated elderly. Currently, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has not imposed immediate plans to further tighten Covid restrictions in the region.

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"Revise, Review, and Adjust" Policy Measures

Regardless of having implemented the "most draconian" measures since the pandemic kickstarted 2020, the "stringent measures have not helped stop the increase in cases."

"Honestly, I think government policies keep changing all the time and it's hard for residents to follow," Alison Hui, a Hong Kong resident told AP News. "We don't know if an announcement is real or not. It really makes us feel very worried."

Lam, who has been holding daily news conferences on the outbreak, said Wednesday that the fifth wave seems to have peaked on March 3 and then leveled off since last Friday. The leader said that the situation was "unprecedented" and had definitely outgrown the capacity of the city government.

The city is advised to hold universal mass testing while the government focused on reducing death rates and severe infections. For most Hong Kongers, the fresh outbreak has been a major setback after months without any locally spread cases.

Francis Lun, an investment manager and a veteran market commentator said that things started to look up by the end of 2021 as they look forward to opening up with China, "but all of a sudden, the omicron hit, and it's completely out of control now. After two years, there's no end in sight," he said.