Hong Kong (AFP)

Hong Kong ended Monday morning the confinement of a neighborhood, the first ordered by the authorities since the start of the pandemic, which has identified 13 cases of Covid-19 out of the 7,000 inhabitants tested, sparking a debate on the effectiveness of such a measure.

Over the weekend, the police were deployed to cordon off an underprivileged and densely populated neighborhood of about 150 buildings where outbreaks have recently appeared.

Officials went door to door to force residents to be tested.

Of the approximately 7,000 tests carried out, only 0.17% were positive for the new coronavirus.

Voices were raised among political and economic leaders to denounce the way in which this measure was implemented.

The authorities have justified its scope and have not ruled out deciding on new confinements of this type.

"We do not see this operation as a waste of manpower and money," Health Minister Sophia Chan told reporters on Sunday.

The city, bristling with tall residential towers, has totaled just over 10,000 cases since the start of the pandemic and 170 deaths have been formally attributed to Covid-19.

Its approximately 7.5 million inhabitants have been living for a year at the rate of more or less severe restrictions, which have proven to be effective in preventing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, but they are weighing on the territory's economy.

In the past two months, Hong Kong has been hit by a fourth wave of infections, and authorities have introduced new restrictions.

In recent weeks, epidemic outbreaks have appeared in disadvantaged neighborhoods where housing is among the most cramped on the planet.

David Hui, an infectious disease expert who advises the government, defended this type of neighborhood closure.

However, he urged the authorities to act more quickly in the future to prevent residents from fleeing before the measures come into force.

"The most worrying thing is knowing that the virus could spread outside, because some residents left when they learned that a lockdown of their neighborhood was going to be put in place," he said.

This information had leaked Friday morning in the Hong Kong media and residents had left the neighborhood before the arrival of the police in the evening.

© 2021 AFP