How was the city prepared?
The highly contagious Omicron variant appeared in the Hong Kong population at the end of December, well after the rest of the planet.
The authorities reacted quickly, banning the arrival of travelers from several countries, prohibiting gatherings of more than two people and even slaughtering thousands of hamsters after the discovery of contamination among rodents in a pet store.
Alas, Hong Kong has recorded more than 20,200 infections in less than two months, compared to 12,000 in the first two years of the pandemic, for a population of 7.5 million.
The region's government has requested help from mainland China to increase its testing capabilities, quickly build quarantine facilities and even a huge temporary hospital.
"I don't think (the government) has ever really prepared for an epidemic on this scale," said Karen Grepin, from the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong.
What situation today?
Since the start of the pandemic, Hong Kong has hospitalized all Covid-19 patients, including those with few or no symptoms.
Overwhelmed this week, hospitals kept patients, some elderly, waiting on stretchers outside in very cold temperatures for the region.
Other worried patients lined up in front of these establishments, at the risk of exposing passers-by to the virus.
A makeshift camp made for Covid patients in Hong Kong, February 18, 2022 Peter PARKS AFP / Archives
“Only a small minority would really need to be in hospital,” epidemiologist Ben Cowling told AFP, who pleads for patients with little or no symptoms to be able to isolate themselves at home.
How to explain the situation?
Hong Kong has always adhered to mainland China's "zero-Covid" policy and virtually cut itself off from the world, imposing lengthy quarantines on all new arrivals.
The authoritarian regime in Beijing has succeeded in eliminating the outbreaks of contamination through city-wide confinements, massive screenings and increased government surveillance.
But "the cost of eliminating (the virus) outweighed the benefits to Hong Kong in mid to late 2021," David Owens, founder of health firms OT&P, wrote in an article.
Even as effective vaccines had become available, the lack of circulation of the virus in the city thanks to this "zero Covid" policy has indeed made many Hong Kongers, especially the elderly who are the most vulnerable, doubt the need to get vaccinated.
Only 43% of 70-79 year olds and 27% of over 80 year olds have received at least two doses to date.
And now?
Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Friday that her government is "drawing up plans" to test all 7.5 million residents.
She insisted that a citywide lockdown, like in mainland China, is not an option for Hong Kong, where population density is one of the highest in the world and where housing is often cramped and shared.
Masked residents in Hong Kong, February 18, 2022 Peter PARKS AFP / Archives
Two days earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked Hong Kong to take “all necessary measures”, thus ruling out the prospect of abandoning the “zero-Covid” strategy.
The authorities plan to use the hotels, deserted because of the closing of the borders, as quarantine centers.
A program has been launched for taxis to transport Covid patients to hospitals, which raises questions about the health risks of often elderly drivers.
"It's no longer a public health decision," said Ms Grepin, from the University of Hong Kong.
"It's also a political decision."
© 2022 AFP