“What’s the point?” Hong Kong resident questions quarantine ordeal – The Peninsula Qatar

“What’s the point?” Hong Kong resident questions quarantine ordeal – The Peninsula Qatar

HONG KONG - Hong Kong accountant May Ng says her family made huge sacrifices last month to comply with the city's COVID-19 policies, but now thinks these were in vain as she does not expect the latest outbreak to be contained.

The global financial hub follows mainland China in deploying a "dynamic zero-COVID" strategy aimed at ending any outbreaks as soon as possible after they occur, but the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has proven hard to keep under control.

Despite extensive contact tracing and draconian isolation policies, daily infections have risen 60-fold since Feb. 1 to several thousands, pushing the city further and further away from its goals.

A person going to the same church as Ng's domestic helper tested positive in January, setting in motion a long string of inconveniences and costs for the accountant's expanded family, none of whom ever tested positive.

"I have no faith in the whole policy," Ng, 52, said. "I understand it is for the safety of society, but if they cannot...handle it, what’s the point?"

Ng and her domestic helper were sent to a makeshift quarantine facility.

Ng's 96-year-old father, who has mobility issues, had to spend five days in an isolation room in a hospital while wearing tight clothing