Hong Kong health facilities have been overwhelmed by an ‘assault’ of COVID-19 infections, said son chief, as rise in omicron business threatens to bring down the city’s”zero-COVID” policy.
Authorities adhered to mainland China policy of stamping out the slightest outbreak with mass quarantine, widespread and prolonged monitoring social distancing measures from the start of the pandemic.
But the highly contagious omicron variant broke through Chinese homeland defenses in late December, stacking up more more than 8,000 contaminations in a few weeks with researchers warning that daily cases could exceed 25,000 by next month.
While the infection rate remains low compared to major cities around the world of Hong Kong policy of sending even asymptomatic cases to hospitals and quarantine facilities has filled up beds and increased waiting times.
“The Assault of the fifth vague of the epidemic has dealt a severe blow to Hong Kong and overwhelmed the city’s capacity of manipulation,” Chief Carrie Lam said. in a statement released Sunday evening.
The thrust in case increased expectation times “for admitting people who test positive to isolation facilities”, she added.
Surrounded by patients doing the queue for test everything of last week, the cityhospitals on sunday says people who have “stable or mild symptoms” to stay at home.
But Lam said the government “will spare no effort to implement” the “zero COVID” strategy and that China is going help the city to strengthen the resources of test and quarantine.
Hong Kong struggles to convince its elders population to get vaccinated with only about 50% of people over age of 70 receiving a blow.
the government said many times son “zero COVID” policy is of buy more time for let them get vaccinated.
The researchers warned on Friday that at the end of March, the city could be racketeering up 28,000 daily infections. At the end of 2021, Hong Kong had only recorded one touch over 12,000 cases.
Last week marked the cityit is first Covid-19 deaths in Five months, with seven sick over 70 and one 4-year-old boy falling to virus.
