Hong Kong hospitals continued to treat COVID-19 patients in their car parks and outdoor spaces as the city’s battle against the virus intensified. Media reported that testing would become compulsory for everyone in the global financial hub from March
Hospitals have been overwhelmed with some patients, including the elderly, left lying on beds outside in chilly, sometimes rainy weather, in shocking scenes that prompted an apology from authorities in the Chinese-controlled city.
Some media reports, citing unidentified sources, said the government planned to test up to 1 million people each day from March. Those who fail to comply would be fined HK$10,000 . Quarantine facilities had reached capacity and hospital beds were more than 90% full, authorities said. In a move to free up beds for isolation, Lam said late on Wednesday she had spoken to local hotel owners and planned to make up to 10,000 hotel rooms available for COVID-19 patients.
HKRMA expects flat year-on-year growth for retail sales for the January-June period, and said growth would easily sink into negative territory in the second half if the situation persists. Authorities said they could no longer keep up their testing and isolation mandates, resulting in a backlog that could not keep pace with the daily infection numbers.
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