Hong Kong claims an estimated 300,000 residents, roughly 4% of its population, are in COVID-19 isolation as the pandemic ravages the densely populated city.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said half of those in quarantine had close contact but were not confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 and emphasized that her priority is reducing severe cases.
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“It is not time for us to let down our guard. Maybe we are suffering from pandemic fatigue, but I must ask people to be more patient and please observe our existing social distancing measures. Please avoid gatherings and going out so that we can prevail over this wave of the pandemic sooner,” Lam pleaded during the press conference.
Lam cautioned that the city’s estimate of residents in isolation might be skewed by rule changes it implemented last month reducing isolation times by a week for the fully vaccinated. Infected residents no longer have to quarantine at government facilities and are allowed to isolate at home instead.
Hong Kong began ramping up its testing output in recent weeks and announced plans to test its entire population three times during March as the omicron variant ripped through the city. Over 11,000 volunteers have rallied to distribute critical supplies to infected patients and help the city enforce its pandemic ordinances, according to Jack Chan, acting home affairs minister.
China, which is battling a COVID-19 resurgence of its own, has been providing the city with critical resources, dispatching medical teams, and aiding in the construction of temporary medical facilities to test and treat the coronavirus.
For most of the pandemic, Hong Kong was seen as a model for slowing the spread of the virus. But now, even as the caseload starts to drop, the city has one of the worst spreads in the world despite its rigid mitigation measures.
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On Sunday, Hong Kong reported over 13,335 new COVID-19 cases, below its peak of over 56,827 cases on March 3, per Our World In Data. For comparison, the United States reported about 5,736 cases Sunday. The U.S. also dwarfs Hong Kong’s population, 330 million to 7.5 million.
Deaths from COVID-19 remain high and have not yet plateaued in the city. The city recorded 264 deaths Sunday, surpassing the U.S.’s 168 reported deaths. Hong Kong has 85% of its population vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine, edging out the U.S., which has 77% of its population vaccinated, according to the New York Times vaccine tracker.
