Hong Kong's Covid-19 death rate is one of world's highest

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's Covid-19 fatality rate is now the highest in the developed world.

The financial hub averaged eight deaths per 1 million people in the 10 days through Monday, the most among advanced economies, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Johns Hopkins University data.

Hong Kong reported a record of 117 new deaths Tuesday. Most of the fatalities during the current wave have been elderly people, and 91 per cent of those who died weren't double vaccinated, according to government data released on Sunday.

Hong Kong is also weighing whether to halt public transport during a lockdown or allow residents who test negative with rapid screening kits to leave their homes, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people.

The government is considering a number of options about the lockdown, including whether it should be citywide or done on a rolling basis, according to the report.

Meanwhile the banking regulator in Hong Kong is lobbying the government to shorten the strict hotel quarantine placed on incoming travellers, seeking to reduce the hotel quarantine to 7 days, followed by another week of isolation from home.

The banking regulator told finance executives in recent weeks that it's lobbying the government to shorten the strict hotel quarantine placed on incoming travellers as it seeks to prop up confidence in the city's status as a financial hub. BLOOMBERG