|
 The Chinese-ruled territory reported 32,597 new coronavirus
infections on Tuesday and a record 117 deaths in the past 24 hours.
It has seen daily infections surge over 30 times from just over 100
at the start of February.
The global financial hub has reported more than 230,000 coronavirus
infections and more than 800 deaths since the pandemic began in
2020. Around 500 deaths have been in the past week, with the
majority being unvaccinated residents.
Hong Kong continues to stick to a COVID policy of "dynamic zero",
the same as mainland China, which seeks to curb all outbreaks at any
cost instead of trying to live with the virus.
The former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule nearly 25
years ago, has introduced its most draconian measures since the
start of the pandemic in 2020.
Mass testing for the city's 7.4 million residents is set to take
place over nine days starting in the second half of March, the South
China Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified source.
The news sparked concerns many people will be forced to isolate and
families with members testing positive would be separated.
Officials are planning to test people three times over nine days,
with the government still deliberating whether a lockdown would be
on a district basis or citywide, the SCMP said.
Exemptions would be made for those who buy food, seek medical
treatment or carry out urgent tasks. Hong Kong's stock market would
continue to operate, Sing Tao newspaper reported, citing
unidentified sources.
"Our intention is always to keep markets fully functioning whatever
the prevailing environment," the stock exchange said in a statement.
Lam had previously said she was not considering a city-wide
lockdown. She also said earlier this year she had no plans for
compulsory mass testing.
[to top of second column] |
 On Tuesday, she appealed to the public "not to
fall prey to rumours to avoid unnecessary fears
being stirred", saying the supply of food and
goods was normal.
"There is no need for members of the public to
worry, they should stay vigilant and pay
attention to the information disseminated by the
government so as to avoid being misled by
rumours," Lam said in a statement.
Despite her comments, dozens of people queued to enter pharmacies
and banks across the city, while many scoured empty shelves in
grocery stores to stock up on whatever essentials they could.
Streets and shopping malls in the heart of the densely populated
city's Central financial district were eerily quiet in what would
typically be a busy lunchtime period.
Health experts from the University of Hong Kong said there were
around 1.7 million people already infected as of Monday, with a peak
of around 183,000 daily infections expected in the coming week. They
said a plan for compulsory mass testing should take place in late
April when case numbers were likely to be much lower.
Lam, who inspected a mainland Chinese built isolation centre on
Monday, said the team had raced against the clock to "create a
miracle" in the city's construction industry.
The Tsing Yi facility, located in the northwest of the city, would
provide around 3,900 rooms for infected people with mild or no
symptoms and others who need to isolate, she said.
(Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Marius Zaharia, Anne Marie
Roantree and Jessie Pang; Editing by Michael Perry and Nick Macfie)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
