Covid-19: Why has the omicron variant hit Hong Kong so hard?

Covid-19 cases are soaring in Hong Kong, and the government’s focus on testing instead of vaccinating older populations may be the reason deaths are spiking and hospitals are overwhelmed



Health


| Analysis

8 March 2022

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kin Cheung/AP/Shutterstock (12833050v) Health workers from mainland China work at the Huo-Yan (Fire Eye) Laboratory, an inflatable mobile testing lab in Hong Kong, . Hong Kong has ramped up its testing capacity with the help of inflatable mobile laboratories, as the city grapples with tens of thousands of COVID-19 cases daily Virus Outbreak , Hong Kong, Hong Kong - 04 Mar 2022

Health workers at a mobile testing lab in Hong Kong

Kin Cheung/AP/Shutterstock

Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong are spiking as the omicron variant spreads. But unlike some other places, Hong Kong also has a high number of severe cases, overwhelming hospitals so the number of deaths is soaring.

Part of the reason is that too few of the older people in Hong Kong are vaccinated. The failure to vaccinate the most vulnerable seems to be a result of trying to please China. Hong Kong continues to pursue a “dynamic zero-covid” strategy that focuses …