It’s most unusual to see a city like Hong Kong lose control over anything. None the less, it appears to have temporarily lost its grip on the pandemic. New York Times ran an article about this on February 27, 2022. We decided to investigate further, as Hong Kong buckles under Omicron just when we thought it was under control.
What’s the Bottom Line in the Situation?
The bottom line is health support systems are temporarily not coping with a surge in serious cases. Mortalities are higher than anticipated, and officials have a backlog of bodies awaiting transport to morgues. Last Saturday alone the city reported 23,000 active cases, and 83 deaths.
The New York Times report echoes fears we had at the beginning of the outbreak. It’s deeply concerning reading of ‘dead bodies piling up on gurneys in hospital hallways’ as Hong Kong buckles under Omicron at this time. Apparently, the city’s three public mortuaries are close to capacity.
Why Hong Kong Buckles Under Omicron COVID Now
The city recorded an 821% spike in new cases as many sick people panicked and rushed to hospitals. Isolation wards are full as a consequence, leaving patients waiting on gurneys in streets outside according to New York Times. City officials are now calling for total lockdown.
However, and this is the big problem they face, Hong Kong does not have resources to manage this. So instead they are considering relaxing strict testing and isolation rules. This would allow some children who test positive to stay home with their parents, instead of hospitalizing them.
Authorities are also appealing for adults to only go to hospitals if they have severe symptoms. We’ll follow up on this after scientists research the root causes. Because we believe it is essential to bottom out how this happened.
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