Hong Kong discusses easing health restrictions

The head of the Hong Kong government said on Thursday that she is considering easing some of the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus due to the loss of tolerance of the population, although she did not submit a plan to remove the city from the crisis caused by the omicron variant.

Ruler Carrie Lam declared at a press conference that “the time has come” to review the restrictions imposed in January in the face of a sharp uptick in cases of covid-19.

“Not because the number of cases has dropped (...) but I feel that people's tolerance is ending,” he added.

His government has been criticized for the lack of clarity in its handling of the fifth wave of the virus in Hong Kong, which resulted in nearly 1 million cases and 4,600 deaths in less than three months.

This exponential increase occurred despite the fact that the financial center has maintained border restrictions since the start of the pandemic and applies harsh social distancing measures.

Following the emergence of the omicron variant in January, the city banned congregations of more than two people, ordered the closure of bars and restaurants at night, and made the use of masks mandatory even for outdoor activities.

The last restriction began on Thursday with the closure of the beaches.

“Some of our financial institutions are losing patience with this isolation of Hong Kong,” Lam admitted.

But when asked about an exit plan from the crisis, he offered no goals.

“The hardest part of fighting the virus is that we can't predict what will happen,” he said.

Hong Kong spent the first two years of the pandemic with a low level of contagion, adhering to the Chinese zero-covid strategy, but in recent weeks it experienced scenes that recall the beginnings of the pandemic, with saturated hospitals and growing deaths of the elderly.

The panic caused by the confusing messages and new restrictions led to an exodus of 65,400 people, both local and foreign, in February.

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