Hong Kong faces hospital crisis amid worst-ever COVID outbreak

By Team Newsable | First Published Feb 20, 2022, 7:48 AM IST

Hong Kong now has some of the lowest immunisation rates in the industrialised world, and critics argue those in power have done nothing to improve those figures.

Hong Kong is in the grip of its worst coronavirus outbreak in history, with inhabitants suddenly confronted with a critically overburdened healthcare system and increasing restrictions even as the rest of the globe opens up. For months, the city's rigorous but effective "zero-Covid" policy had kept the virus at bay.

However, when the highly transmissible Omicron form breached Hong Kong's defences, officials were taken off guard, with a severely under-vaccinated populace and little strategies in place to deal with a widespread epidemic.

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The highly contagious Omicron variety was detected in late December among Hong Kong's local community, considerably later than the rest of the globe. After coronavirus-positive pet store rats were identified, authorities immediately banned flights, prohibited groups of more than two, and started a large hamster slaughter. However, these precautions had little effect on Omicron's spread.

As of Friday, Hong Kong has registered almost 20,200 illnesses in less than two months, far exceeding its two-year total of around 12,000. The administration is now trying to identify a location for a temporary mega-hospital while also requesting mainland assistance with testing capacity and the rapid building of quarantine facilities.

During earlier epidemics, Hong Kong's protocol was to hospitalise all Covid-19 patients, even those with minor symptoms. This week, bleak photos showed an overburdened medical staff transporting elderly patients on gurneys outside in freezing conditions when it ran out of isolation space. Concerned patients also waited in huge lines outside hospitals, possibly exposing themselves to the general public. According to Cowling, authorities need a fresh approach as the numbers continue to rise.

Hong Kong has long followed the "zero-Covid" policy of the Chinese mainland. With citywide lockdowns, widespread testing, and increased official monitoring, authoritarian China could eliminate breakouts. Despite health experts warning that the barriers would not last forever, Hong Kong officials maintained the same zero-tolerance policy. Hong Kong now has some of the lowest immunisation rates in the industrialised world, and critics argue those in power have done nothing to improve those figures. The elderly are especially susceptible; just 43% of those aged 70-79 and 27% of those over 80 in the city had got two vaccinations.

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