The number of daily Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong continues to rise. Prof. Gabriel Leung, University of Hong Kong's Dean of Medicine, admitted; “We are nowhere near the peak”. On February 19 and 20, Hong Kong logged 12,130 new infections, reporting about 6,000 new cases on both days. On February 21, a single-day record of 7,533 cases was reported as well as 16 Covid-related deaths. A total of 29,408 infections were recorded in the past five days, accounting for 48.7% of the total since the start of the pandemic. Dr Sarah Ho of the Hospital Authority described a “crisis situation”, and Hong Kong Clinical Virologist Dr Siddharth Sridhar said the hospitals were “sandcastles in a tsunami”.
In an unprecedented warning to the Hong Kong authorities, Chinese President Xi Jinping admonished the Hong Kong government to take the “main responsibility” in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, urging it to stabilize the situation as soon as possible. He also expressed his concern about the epidemic situation in the city. Executive Councillor Wong Kwok-kin said Xi’s emphasis on the Hong Kong government’s “main responsibility” in battling the outbreak reflected the central authorities’ dissatisfaction with city officials’ lack of planning to stay ahead of the latest Covid wave. Vice Premier Han Zheng has instructed the Hong Kong government and the relevant authorities to “firmly implement Xi’s instructions”, and directed the relevant authorities in Beijing and Guangdong to handle requests made by Hong Kong.
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials have shortlisted three sites for the construction of a mega makeshift hospital to house the rising numbers of coronavirus cases that have stretched health care resources to the limit. The three potential sites under discussion include an extension of the existing Penny’s Bay quarantine center, the Lok Ma Chau Loop near the border and the AsiaWorld-Expo. Construction of a mega-hospital is a key objective of the new joint task force involving local and Guangdong province officials, set up after Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary John Lee met mainland officials in Shenzhen. For now, Hong Kong’s Covid-19 patients are being isolated in designated public housing blocks and hotels or sent to health clinics to ease the strain on hospitals. About 3,000 flats in three designated public housing blocks are being used to isolate infected people, and hotels would provide another 10,000 rooms. Seven public clinics designated for Covid-19 patients waiting to be admitted to government-run facilities will also have begun operation.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government had no plans for a complete lockdown for compulsory testing but confirmed that focused, district-based lockdowns were being considered. The Chief Executive's election in Hong Kong, originally planned for March 27, was postponed till May. Medical experts warn the city could see 28,000 daily infections by the end of March, and there were worries about the large numbers of elderly people who are not vaccinated. Hong Kong will introduce a vaccine pass from February 24, requiring residents to show proof of vaccination before entering restaurants, supermarkets and shopping malls. Five special task forces have been set up, focused on boosting local testing capability, pathological examinations, constructing quarantine facilities, and supplying medical goods and fresh food.
In response to the outbreak in Hong Kong, neighboring Shenzhen in Guangdong province has tightened Covid-19 prevention and control measures to prevent imported cases from spreading in the city by strictly implementing closed-loop management of truck drivers at cross-border transfer stations. Shenzhen has registered 13,655 cross-border truck drivers who are exempt from quarantine requirements when entering the city as long as they can show a negative nucleic acid test and green health code. The city has 17 cross-border transfer stations for trucks that operate between the mainland and Hong Kong every day. The new measures were introduced after a truck driver in Shenzhen tested positive at a cross-border truck station. Since February 7, Shenzhen authorities have required cross-border truck drivers from Hong Kong to show negative results for nucleic acid tests done in the past 24 hours and they are required to have samples collected at entry ports for another test.
Subway and bus services between Shanghai and the neighboring city of Suzhou were suspended last week to curb the resurgence of Covid-19 in Jiangsu province after seven confirmed cases and one asymptomatic one were reported in Suzhou, all of the Omicron variant. Cinemas, mahjong and chess rooms, internet bars, KTV, game rooms, bars and other public areas were closed down. Suzhou residents are required to stay home, avoid gathering and wear masks and are asked to avoid leaving the city unless it is absolutely necessary. Mass testing has been conducted in Suzhou Industrial Park – an important high-tech development zone that hosts about 100,000 companies and accommodates manufacturing facilities of foreign firms such as Samsung and Eli Lilly. In the past few days an outbreak of Covid-19 has also been reported in Inner Mongolia, as well as a single-digit number of cases in Liaoning, Guangdong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Heilongjiang.
Chinese scientists from Tsinghua University, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences have developed a system to detect traces of the coronavirus in the air, which was first used during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The new tool consists of a portable collector designed to suck in ambient air and shake out aerosol droplets consisting of fine particles that can carry the coronavirus. The detector is 10 times more sensitive than regular nucleic acid testing tools. The system is likely to be used in hospitals, train stations and airports in the future.
Local governments in China have been banned from imposing unauthorized lockdowns, in the latest attempt to fine-tune the country’s coronavirus policies and boost the services sector. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) instructed all regional authorities to not impose any citywide or district-wide lockdowns that go beyond relevant coronavirus prevention and control measures issued by the central government or cut off public transport unnecessarily or without approval. The NDRC also urged local governments not to shut down or extend the closure of restaurants, supermarkets, scenic spots and cinemas without epidemiological investigation or a policy basis. “We will resolutely avoid both the tendencies of ‘loosening prevention and control’ and ‘excessive prevention and control’,” the NDRC said. The new rules are part of efforts to adopt a further “targeted” approach in virus rules to help services return to normal, the NDRC added.
The National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control has been upgraded to supervising and managing local disease control agencies and disease control work at medical institutions. The Administration has now become a Vice-ministerial level body. Consolidating the responsibilities in one agency, as well as giving it more power to lead lower-level institutions, is expected to help prevent outbreaks and safeguard public health. Previously, disease control responsibilities and decision-making power were dispersed among multiple government departments, hampering the rollout of coordinated and assertive measures in the face of an acute health emergency. Respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan said that the Covid-19 outbreak has shown that convoluted procedures for reporting an emergency to higher authorities could lead to missing the window of opportunity for swift containment. “The establishment of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control can make up for the shortfall and save precious time,” he said.
Meanwhile, several cities in Guangdong province have offered rewards for tips on infected people trying to cross the border from Hong Kong. The Daya Bay Economic and Technological Development Zone in Huizhou is offering a reward up to CNY500,000 for tips leading to the capture of persons crossing the border illegally, while Zhuhai has paid its first reward of CNY100,000 to residents who tipped off departments cracking down on illegal border crossings. The cities of Zhongshan, Dongguan, Jiangmen, Shanwei and Chaozhou are also offering rewards. Jiangmen has set up a special fund of CNY1 million to reward residents who tip off police. Police in Zhongshan recently detained 19 people suspected of crossing the border illegally. All passengers entering Guangdong from Hong Kong have been required to undergo two weeks of quarantine, plus another seven days of home isolation, since January 26.
This overview is based on reports by the Guardian, China Daily, Global Times and South China Morning Post.
