Once bustling Hong Kong is languishing amid a strict zero-COVID strategy that has closed bank branches and movie theaters. Its international airport is nearly devoid of travelers. With the city's worst outbreak yet, many here fear worse is yet to come.
Hong Kong has seen banks close branches and movie theaters have shut down. The streets of popular shopping and dining districts are lined with shops displaying “for rent” signs. Its international airport is nearly devoid of travelers.depriving restaurants of of critical dinner and banquet revenues.
But China has many cities. Hong Kong, former British colony and semi-autonomous region of China, lacks the resources for such a complete lockdown, which would halt virtually all economic activity in the city of about 7.5 million.And people living in Hong Kong, which was handed over to communist-ruled China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” approach, are used to greater freedoms than residents of the mainland. Lock downs of single buildings or city blocks have raised vehement criticism.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam shows no sign of retreating from the “zero-COVID” stance, saying Thursday that fighting the pandemic was her “paramount task” and the city would “not be distracted by other things.” At the current rate of spread of infections new daily cases could rise to 28,000 by March, so it’s unclear that will be enough.
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