Zero-Covid strategy fails in Hong Kong amid Omicron wave

Hong Kong, February 17 : In the face of the latest Omicron wave, the zero-Covid strategy of Hong Kong has failed as daily infections top 4,000, the previous fail-safe systems have begun to buckle under the strain of their own uncompromising rules.
Hong Kong's insistence on sending all positive cases to hospitals, irrespective of the severity, has led to at least one hospital being so overwhelmed it was forced to move patients on gurneys outside, lining them up in the parking lot, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, a raft of tightened restrictions and targeted lockdowns have led many experts and residents to question the sustainability of such an approach as the city enters the third year of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping took the unusual step of directly calling on Hong Kong officials to take "all necessary measures," according to comments published in two Chinese state-run newspapers.
Xi's intervention has raised fears that further restrictions similar to those seen in mainland China, including a possible citywide lockdown, could soon follow, reported CNN.
The newest wave began in January and quickly spun out of control despite authorities' increasingly desperate efforts.
The government's zero-Covid playbook have failed to stop the surge. Many of the government's rules were formed with the zero-Covid goal in mind, such as hospitalization for all those who test positive for Covid -- regardless of their condition -- and mandatory tests for anybody who may have been exposed.
These rules may have worked when Hong Kong was only dealing with a few dozen cases at a time -- but the scale of the latest outbreak has stretched them to breaking point.
As of Monday evening, seven of Hong Kong's 17 public hospitals had either reached or exceeded 100 per cent inpatient bed occupancy -- leading to the makeshift outdoor wards, which could pose a problem this weekend with rain and cold temperatures expected. Long lines stretch across the city, with people waiting hours to get tested.
Moreover, the Chinese central government stepped in earlier this week. China will send health experts and medical supplies to Hong Kong, and help build new quarantine and isolation facilities, officials said -- bringing to mind the temporary hospitals that were constructed and operational within weeks in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic, at the start of it all, reported CNN.
Though Hong Kong has aligned itself with Beijing in pursuing zero-Covid in the hopes of reopening borders with the mainland, it could have taken a different route.
Last August, Singapore was among the first Asian countries to declare it was moving away from a zero-Covid policy to living with the virus instead. It was soon followed by Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and others, reported CNN.
The mood in Singapore is now drastically different than in Hong Kong. A high vaccination rate and reopened travel with two dozen countries mean daily life has more or less resumed.
Though cases there are spiking as well, people are able to go to the movies, meet friends at the bar, even attend sports events and live concerts.