Folks sporting protecting masks line as much as get examined for the coronavirus at a short lived testing middle in Hong Kong, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Related Press
Hong Kong has the best COVID-19 loss of life fee within the developed world proper now.
Particulars: Hong Kong is within the midst of an omicron variant outbreak, which has crippled hospitals and shutdown eating places and companies all through the town.
- Per The New York Occasions, nervousness has grown amongst individuals within the metropolis, who're fearful about potential lockdowns, quarantine and different measures to fight COVID-19.
Context: Hong Kong lengthy championed the thought of “zero COVID,” which aimed to get rid of all instances by way of testing and quarantine, in response to The Washington Submit.
- That is much like China’s plan to fight COVID-19 with “strict social distancing, mass testing, lockdowns and largely closed borders have been efficient at stopping the coronavirus from overwhelming the hospital system,” The Washington Submit experiences.
By the numbers: Near 2,300 individuals have died in the course of the metropolis’s most up-to-date COVID-19 outbreak, per The Washington Submit.
- For comparability, 213 individuals have died from COVID-19 in Hong Kong for the reason that pandemic started.
What’s taking place:
- “Now the state of affairs is that planning and preparation are nonetheless underway, however it isn't a precedence to do (mass testing). When to do it will likely be a collective determination, and can have in mind the opinions of consultants,” mentioned Lam.
- “If we're going to do it correctly, we've to inform those that till you’ve acquired a adverse outcome, you'll be able to’t exit and about.”