Hong Kong, almost one million Covid infections from Omicron wave
Just under 5,000 deaths in three months, mostly elderly. Under citicisim from the population, businesses and experts, the city government is preparing new health regulations. Local leader Carrie Lam also attacked by members of her (pro-Beijing) camp. Central authorities fear the situation could create political and social instability.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - More than 980,000 cases of Covid-19 have been linked to the wave of the Omicron variant that is sweeping across the city in the last three months. Among them there have been 4,923 deaths so far, some of them among double-dose vaccine patients. Most of the victims are elderly people.
Health authorities said the number of cases of infection in the city has dropped to 21,650 today.
AsiaNews has verified on the spot that the situation is still serious. The city government has not imposed a lockdown. Carrie Lam, head of the local executive, said today that changes to health regulations would be announced between 20 and 21 March, especially on issues such as quarantine for foreign arrivals, a stop to air links, screening tests for the entire population, the reopening of schools and social distancing measures.
Lam admitted that citizens and businesses have lost patience with the prolonged emergency. As reported by Rthk, health experts from the University of Hong asked the city administration to draw up a plan to return to normal, so that people can regain confidence and hope. The three microbiologists criticised the government for failing to learn from the experience of other countries when they reopened and for being unprepared.
Lam had adopted a 'dynamic zero Covid' policy to contain the crises, in line with that of mainland China, which is also grappling with an upsurge of the pandemic. For the relatively mild symptoms of Omicron, most countries around the world have chosen a strategy of coexistence with the virus.
The city leader is under media pressure. More and more members of the pro-Beijing establishment are launching attacks on her, saying she should resign out of a sense of shame. Their concern is that the health emergency will turn into a political issue in a key year for the former British colony and China. On 8 May, a vote is scheduled to elect the new head of the city's government, with Lam not yet saying whether or not he will run again. Then, in the autumn, there will be the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress, which is expected to grant Xi Jinping a third, "historic" term in power.
After the December elections, which opened the doors of the city parliament (Legco) only to "patriotic" representatives, the chaotic management of the response to the fifth wave of Covid-19 put the work of the authorities, which are closely linked to the central government, in a bad light.
On 13 March, the head of the China Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, a Beijing-based think tank, warned that "the accumulation of discontent can cause political instability". According to Lau Siu-kai, the Hong Kong Free Press reported, "this will weaken the authority of the 'patriots' who rule Hong Kong".
In June 2020, in order to silence Hong Kong's democratic opposition following a season of strong protests in 2019, the Chinese government imposed a draconian national security law. The passing of the measure led to the arrest of numerous pro-democracy leaders and the closure of pro-democracy organisations and groups.
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