Hong Kong bet on zero-Covid. Now it’s facing a ‘preventable disaster’

Hong Kong — once lauded as a zero-Covid success story — is now battling a deadly outbreak reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, despite having had more than two years to prepare.With locally transmitted cases surging past 312,000 in the city of 7.4 million in just the last two weeks, hospitals and embattled health workers have been stretched to breaking point. The numbers are likely to be far higher due to suspicions people are not reporting their positive test results for fear of being separated from families and put into government isolation facilities. Although the rampant surge has been driven by the less deadly Omicron variant, Hong Kong’s deaths are also rising — particularly among the city’s unvaccinated elderly. According to Our World in Data, which uses data from Johns Hopkins University, Hong Kong reported more deaths per million people in the week to March 3 than any country or territory. An uncertain futureAs other places around the world open up and learn to live with Covid, Hong Kong still has some of the strictest border rules in the world, including a ban on most non-Hong Kong residents entering. And for many in the city, the apparent absence of a more forward-facing plan is difficult to bear. Within days of the announcement of mass testing, a new Facebook group for advice on relocating had attracted more than 3,900 members, with some saying they wanted to get out before citywide testing started. One 37-year-old mother of two who asked not to be named for privacy reasons said last week she was leaving the city for Australia — and was unsure if or when she’ll be back. She worried that Hong Kong’s public health measures could mean her son, who has an autoimmune disease, might not be able to get the hospital treatment he needs and that her children could be separated from her if they test positive.”I feel like the kids are being punished the most throughout this whole thing. 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James Hov, 31, poured his life savings into a barbershop that has been closed for weeks under the restrictions. He worries he could lose his business and struggle to pay off the engagement ring he bought for his future spouse.”You can’t end Covid. Closing barbershops but having a cluster of people on trains for their daily commute — it’s moronic — I’m not so sure any logic was behind it,” he said.One 25-year-old tattoo artist who asked not to use her real name as she is afraid of repercussions, said last month she is continuing her business underground despite a current ban. She is refusing to get a vaccine as she doesn’t trust either the Chinese or Pfizer vaccines available in the city. She is skeptical of Hong Kong’s policies, which she said were merely there to satisfy China. “It’s harming society, it’s harming economics, it’s harming people’s well-being,” she said. For Hong Kong, there’s an unprecedented health crisis ahead, and then little light at the end of the tunnel — even if the city opens up, another wave is inevitable, said virologist Sridhar. “We’re just waiting for either the next wave or a shift in stance from the powers that be.”