President Xi Jinping is said to have asked the Hong Kong authorities to introduce “all necessary measures” to overcome the growing corona infection, writes Al Jazeera. On Wednesday, a record 4285 cases of infection were registered in Hong Kong.
The president blames local authorities for the omikron outbreak in the region.
– They must take on the main responsibility, as well as stabilize and control the pandemic as soon as possible. It must be a top priority to mobilize all resources to take all necessary action, the president is said to have told the newspaper Wen Wei Po, which is controlled by the government.
It was not stated where or when the president should have spoken, but the remark should have come recently.
– Tough fight
Hong Kong Health Minister Edwin Tsui describes the contagion as “the toughest fight against the virus” in the last two years, and has urged residents to stay home, according to Reuters.
Epidemiologists at the University of Hong Kong warn that tens of thousands could be infected per day in a short time – and potentially take a heavy toll on the region’s unvaccinated elderly.
The vaccination rate in Hong Kong is low. Only 22 percent of the population over the age of 80 have been vaccinated.
“The fifth wave has given Hong Kong a hard blow and overwhelmed the city’s capacity to deal with the pandemic,” city leader Carrie Lam said at a news conference on Monday, according to Reuters.
– The situation is very undesirable and the government is worried and sorry about it, she said.
Warns: Tidal wave on the way
Hit full alarm
It was at the very end of 2021 that Hong Kong – with its 7.5 million inhabitants – registered its first “infection cluster” of omicron – which means that two people are infected. The government’s pandemic adviser, Professor David Hui, warned of a major outbreak.
– Omikron spreads quickly. We have to find everyone and test them so we can understand more about the situation, Hui said.
For almost two years, China has had some of the world’s strictest coronary restrictions and followed the so-called zero-covid strategy, which means that borders are closed, areas are closed down and mass testing is introduced for individual cases.
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Coronadødsfall
On Saturday, a three-year-old girl was admitted to a hospital in Hong Kong, after being diagnosed with corona. The symptoms worsened, and despite being transferred to an intensive care unit, the girl died on Tuesday. It writes the country’s health authorities in one press release sent out the same evening.
It is not known if the covid-19 diagnosis is the main reason why the three-year-old died, or if she had any underlying diseases.
A 100-year-old woman also died of corona symptoms the same evening, the authorities say.
– The hospitals are saddened by the patients’ deaths and will offer the necessary help to the families, the authorities write in the press release.
Warns: – Will be a new pandemic
Few deaths
Including the last two deaths, a total of 217 deaths have been registered related to the coronavirus, according to the authorities.
At the same time, at the time of writing, 26,670 positive tests have been registered, and despite the fact that the infection rate is low compared to other countries, Hong Kong is particularly vulnerable to the omicron variant of the virus due to its high population density. writes Bloomberg.
The magazine also writes that the region offers the Sinova Biotech vaccine to children as young as three years old after the government recently lowered the age limit. As of Wednesday, children between the ages of five and eleven can receive the Pfizer vaccine.
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