HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong is facing its worst coronavirus outbreak ever, and the city is woefully unprepared for the surge.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong is facing its worst coronavirus outbreak ever, and the city is woefully unprepared for the surge.
Although the government is now scrambling to boost testing, quarantine and hospitalisation facilities, the city's long stretch of seeming to have dodged the coronavirus bullet - daily local infections never went above 28 before this month - has left its defences low. "Perversely, the more successful you are, you get the impression oh we don't have the virus, we don't have to worry about thinking of the basic precautions," said Peter Collignon, a professor of clinical medicine at the Australian National University Medical School in Canberra.
Its total outbreak of 1,958 cases is still far smaller than those experienced in countries like South Korea, Singapore and mainland China, but the city's medical system is already coming under strain. Officials said the situation is critical as isolation beds and wards in public hospitals have now reached 80 per cent capacity.
LOOPHOLES, LAX RULES The high share of untraceable infections in Hong Kong's outbreak - known as"cases of unknown origins" - has pushed the government to implement broad social distancing measures, closing down bars and gyms and limiting restaurant dine-in hours.
Other major aviation hubs such as Singapore and Taiwan maintain strict rules over the travel and layover of crew members and prevent them from mingling with local populations. FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY As lax measures presented opportunities for the coronavirus to re-emerge, a rapid easing of social distancing measures aided its spread.
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