Covid: Hong Kong Relies on China's Medics to Help Reduce Cases
Hong Kong is relying on more medical workers from mainland China to help reduce Covid-19 cases. Crematoriums and hospitals are straining under the pressure of the world’s highest death rate. A new batch of 300 doctors and nurses arrived in the Hong Kong on March 16 to strengthen the city's ability to reduce Covid-related deaths and severe cases. “Our crematoriums are working day and night, and they are already close to their capacity,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a briefing. “Within such a short period of time, we have seen so many deaths, and that would affect the logistics of funeral matters.” The city’s health-care system has buckled under the weight of the outbreak, which has seen deaths exceed 4,630 -- mostly elderly, unvaccinated, and care-home residents. The surge has already forced Hong Kong to start using mobile refrigerated units to store bodies after public mortuaries were overwhelmed. Meanwhile, local media last week reported cases of body bags left next to hospital patients’ beds, prompting an apology from health officials who said measures had been put in place to speed up the transfer of bodies. The financial hub will soon receive two deliveries of coffins by sea, Lam said, after Shenzhen’s lockdown sparked concerns about supply. More broadly, Hong Kong officials are coordinating with their counterparts across the border to ensure a supply of essential goods, and Lam said her government would fully cooperate if Shenzhen implements more stringent virus measures to contain their flareup. Hong Kong has seen 962,581 cases in this outbreak, with the total jumping after the government released historical rapid-test results for the first time. More than 184,000 positive RATs from Feb. 26 to March 5 were submitted to a self-reporting platform as part of a pivot to recognizing those tests in tallies. The official number compares with an estimate from researchers at the University of Hong Kong that 3.6 million Hong Kongers -- about half the city -- caught the disease through March 14. Health authorities reported 29,272 Covid cases on Wednesday, as well as 217 deaths. The total number of fatalities in Hong Kong since the start of the pandemic rose to 4,846 and now exceeds deaths in mainland China. The emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant has thrown Hong Kong’s Covid Zero strategy, which it shares with mainland China, into disarray as surging case numbers overwhelm hospitals and exceeded the city’s ability to contract trace and isolate. Officials have maintained they will continue to pursue a zero-tolerance approach, even as they’ve walked back key pillars that underpin the policy. It is “simply unrealistic” for Hong Kong to carry out the measures it used in previous waves due to the high case numbers, Lam said. The city’s future strategy for Covid or other public health crises will be guided by three areas: public health results, economic results, and people’s acceptance and tolerance of health measures, she said. “I can’t see the economy torn into pieces,” she said. Lam also said Hong Kong beaches will be cordoned off to prevent people gathering, though she currently has no plans to further tighten social distancing measures. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: / bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: / bloombergquicktakenews Twitter: / quicktake Facebook: / quicktake Instagram: / quicktake
