HK leader rules out China-style lockdown as coronavirus spreads

HK leader rules out China-style lockdown as coronavirus spreads

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s leader yesterday said she would not impose a mainland China-style hard lockdown as the city faces its worst coronavirus wave to date, even as she vowed no switch to living with COVID-19. The comments came as hospitals began to buckle under the strain of rising infections with at least two medical facilities placing patients in beds outside their entrances. No place in the world has managed to return to zero COVID cases after such an outbreak except mainland China, which has imposed citywide lockdowns and mass stay-at-home orders when even a handful of cases are detected.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam ruled out that approach. “We have no plans whatsoever to impose a complete, wholesale lockdown,” she told reporters. But she also rejected calls from some public health experts and business figures to switch to a mitigation strategy saying zero-Covid remained her administration’s goal.

“We have to continue to fight this anti-epidemic battle. Surrendering to the virus is not an option,” Lam said. Authorities will continue to use smaller-scale district lockdowns, with testing of all residents in housing blocks where cases are detected, she added. For more than two years, Hong Kong has followed China’s strategy, pursuing