Once a model for infection control, HK grapples with new coronavirus wave

Beijing

HONG Kong once seemed like a model for how to control the coronavirus. Schools were open. Restaurants and malls buzzed with crowds. Buses and trains operated as usual, with residents dutifully wearing face masks on board.

But a new wave of infections in recent days has put the city on edge. Hospitals are now seeing more cases a day than they ever have during the pandemic. More important, health officials are unable to determine the origin of many of these cases, despite having a robust contact tracing system in place.

The government reported 73 cases on Monday, one of the highest totals for a single day since the coronavirus emerged nearly seven months ago in mainland China. In short order, the virus has spread across the city, infecting clerical staff at a government-run eye clinic, residents at a senior centre and cleaning workers at the airport.

"The situation is very serious, and there is no sign of it coming under control," Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong, said on Sunday as she announced new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.

The city had been widely praised by international experts for its response to the pandemic. It moved quickly to tighten its borders and impose quarantine rules, containing outbreaks traced first to travellers from mainland China and then to Hong Kong residents returning from Europe and the United States.

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But the latest outbreak has puzzled top health experts.

Officials have so far been unable to trace how a significant number of people caught the virus, a worrisome sign, epidemiologists say, that makes it more difficult to break the chain of transmission. Most people who tested positive for the virus have not travelled and have not been linked to known clusters.

Many residents have attributed the outbreak to people who have entered Hong Kong recently without undergoing the standard 14-day quarantine. They have urged the government to stop granting exemptions to some business travellers and airplane pilots, but the government, which is struggling with a recession, has defended the exemptions as necessary.

After easing restrictions on daily life in recent weeks, Hong Kong officials are once again imposing tough measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. Masks are required indoors in public spaces, and dining at restaurants after 6pm is banned. The government has ordered gyms, movie theatres and swimming pools to close once again. About 40 per cent of government workers have been asked to stay home.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, a top health official, did not rule out the possibility of imposing a curfew or a lockdown if the number of cases grew exponentially.

The government is expanding its testing of residents, especially of those considered to be at a high risk of contracting the virus, including older adults, taxi drivers and restaurant workers. Officials say they are processing about 10,000 tests a day, and health workers have distributed testing kits in residential compounds where clusters have emerged. NYTIMES