by AFP
hOverwhelmed hospitals, empty supermarkets, dire quarantine camps: Chaos has gripped Hong Kong, which faces its strongest wave of the coronavirus with thousands of cases every day, and is preparing to screen all its residents.
The financial center, known for its efficiency, is now the target of critics. For the past few weeks, hospitals have been saturated and images of dozens of Covid patients piled on stretchers in the open air in front of emergency services have shocked Hong Kong people. Morgues are full and thousands of asymptomatic patients have been kept in isolation camps and separated from their loved ones.
The United States on Wednesday formally advised against all travel to Hong Kong, citing cases of solitary confinement of young children who were torn from their parents after testing positive for Covid.
Many Hong Kongers criticize the government for its inability to anticipate the current crisis despite two years of relief, thanks to its “zero COVID” strategy, painful for the economy but crowned with success in terms of health.
Other countries that initially followed a “zero COVID” strategy, such as Australia and Singapore, have now decided to live with the virus. But China is committed to eliminating all matters and has ordered Hong Kong to do the same.
The city is preparing to test its 7.4 million residents three times in March and isolate every infected person, including in prefabricated camps being built with Chinese help.
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