Hong Kong: Hong Kong Hospital A record rise in coronavirus cases comes as outpatients are being treated, pushing facilities beyond capacity and sabotaging the city’s Covid Zero strategy.
About a dozen elderly residents, wrapped under blankets, were forced to wait on a hospital bed Wednesday outside Caritas Medical Center in Sham Shui Po, one of the city’s poorest districts. Another group of people, including young children, sat in blue isolation tents across the street as they waited to be evaluated by medical staff.
While the four-digit daily case count is lower than global peers, the city had previously hospitalized all infected people as a rule. It has kept Hong Kong largely virus-free for the past two years, but the outbreak has caused thousands of mildly ill or asymptomatic people to rush to emergency units. The influx has prompted policy changes, including pleas from officials to stay home until seriously ill with Covid.
Health officials have said they are aware of people waiting outside hospitals and are looking for other facilities they can use. On Wednesday, 4,285 new infections were reported in the city and 16 patients were in critical condition.
There is pressure to move fast, with a cold front building up in Hong Kong over the weekend. Temperatures are forecast to drop by around 10 °C or less in parts, raising concerns about additional risks to the health of vulnerable residents who are forced to wait outside.
About a dozen elderly residents, wrapped under blankets, were forced to wait on a hospital bed Wednesday outside Caritas Medical Center in Sham Shui Po, one of the city’s poorest districts. Another group of people, including young children, sat in blue isolation tents across the street as they waited to be evaluated by medical staff.
While the four-digit daily case count is lower than global peers, the city had previously hospitalized all infected people as a rule. It has kept Hong Kong largely virus-free for the past two years, but the outbreak has caused thousands of mildly ill or asymptomatic people to rush to emergency units. The influx has prompted policy changes, including pleas from officials to stay home until seriously ill with Covid.
Health officials have said they are aware of people waiting outside hospitals and are looking for other facilities they can use. On Wednesday, 4,285 new infections were reported in the city and 16 patients were in critical condition.
There is pressure to move fast, with a cold front building up in Hong Kong over the weekend. Temperatures are forecast to drop by around 10 °C or less in parts, raising concerns about additional risks to the health of vulnerable residents who are forced to wait outside.
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