Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Xi presses Hong Kong to curb covid outbreak
HONG KONG — Coronavirus patients lay in hospital beds or open-air tents amid record numbers of infections in Hong Kong, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pressed the local government to control the situation.
Hong Kong has topped 2,000 new covid-19 cases each day this week. The city government has already instituted strict rules banning gatherings of more than two households.
But health care facilities are beginning to overflow, and the city’s Caritas Medical Center was forced Wednesday to treat some patients in beds outside the building.
Xi directed Vice Premier Han Zheng to express to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam the concerns that Chinese Communist Party leaders have about the city’s ongoing outbreak, according to Wen Wei Po, a news outlet.
Zheng said the Hong Kong government “should earnestly assume the main responsibility and regard the rapid stabilization and control of the epidemic as the current overriding task,” the report said.
China’s central government agencies and neighboring Guangdong province will provide Hong Kong with resources to fight the outbreak, including rapid antigen tests, medical expertise and supplies, Zheng said.
China has maintained a “zero tolerance” policy for covid-19 that involves total lockdowns, extensive contact tracing and the mass testing of millions of people. The strategy seeks to contain outbreaks as soon as they are detected.
Lam has stuck to the strategy despite geographical and other differences between Hong Kong and other parts of China. Last week, the entire upscale Discovery Bay neighborhood in Hong Kong was ordered to undergo testing after authorities found traces of the virus in its sewage.
Thousands of people in the city have tested positive for covid-19 and are waiting to be admitted into hospitals or isolation facilities, said Dr. Sara Ho, the chief manager for patient safety and risk management at the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.
“This situation is undesirable. Therefore, we are looking for ways with the government to set up more isolation facilities. We hope to shorten the patients’ waiting time,” she added.
Yancey Yau, a construction worker, said the city’s hospital workers are facing heavy stress.
“They are working so hard. But the government is not doing what they should do,” Yau said. “The hospital workers are just miserable. I hope more citizens will support them. I don’t have any hope for this government.”
EASING RESTRICTIONS
By contrast, the citystate of Singapore — which is similarly sized to Hong Kong, with a population of some 5.7 million compared with Hong Kong’s 7.5 million — implemented strict lockdown measures early in the pandemic but is now pursuing a “living with covid” approach.
The number of new cases per capita in Singapore has skyrocketed with the arrival of the omicron variant, with 1,911 new cases per million people reported on Monday, versus 66 per million in Hong Kong, according to Our World in Data.
But people testing positive who have no symptoms or only mild symptoms just need to quarantine at home, and even those who have more severe symptoms are told to see a physician for medical advice before going to the hospital.
Consequently, Singapore is not suffering the stress on its health care system that Hong Kong is now experiencing.
Singapore also boasts one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, with 88% of its population fully vaccinated, compared with Hong Kong’s 64%.
In England, authorities plan to offer a coronavirus vaccine to almost 6 million children from ages 5 to 11, officials said Wednesday.
The government said young children will be offered a low- dose covid-19 shot on a “nonurgent” basis beginning in April in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland announced similar measures.
“Parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of Ccovid-19 as we learn to live with this virus,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday is expected to outline his government’s long-term strategy for “living with covid.” Johnson said last week that all remaining domestic restrictions in England, including the legal requirement for infected individuals to isolate, could be lifted within weeks.
England has already scrapped most restrictive measures, such as mandatory masks and vaccine passports for entering nightclubs and large events. Northern Ireland has lifted all legal restrictions.
Scotland has taken a more cautious approach. Face coverings still are required in indoor public spaces, and nightclubs check people’s vaccine passports.
Japan has decided to lower precautions as well. The isolation period for people entering the country from destinations categorized as low risk for infection with the omicron variant will be reduced from seven days to three starting in March, according to sources, who said the government is preparing to relax border controls.
People traveling from countries not categorized as high risk who have tested negative for the coronavirus beforehand will be advised to isolate for three days at home or in hotels.
The three- day isolation period will also apply to people entering Japan from destinations categorized as high risk if arrivals have received three doses of a covid-19 vaccine and have proof of a negative test result.