Top health official cannot rule out full-city lockdown to suppress Covid spread

Controller of the Centre for Health Protection Edwin Tsui Lok-kin said on Saturday that he could not rule out the possibility of a full-city lockdown to suppress the Covid-19 development of Hong Kong. 

Tsui warned that the fifth wave of the pandemic is the most brutal battle the city has faced over the past two years and called on citizens to stay at home, hoping that the stringent social distancing measures could cut off the transmission chains. 

When asked if the government would implement a full city lockdown, he answered that he could not rule out such a possibility. 

Suppose the strict Covid curbs do not work well in reducing the infection numbers. In that case, it is possible that the government may impose even harsher measures, including a full-city lockdown, Tsui added. Yet authorities will need time to discuss whether such measures will work well. 

Hong Kong reported 1,514 confirmed cases today and over 1,500 preliminary positive cases. 

Tsui expects the case numbers have yet to reach the ceiling and will continue to rise in the future, saying the existing curbs are “of some use” in slowing down the spread of the coronavirus. 

He also noted that citizens who tested preliminary positive may have to wait as long as a few days before being admitted to hospitals and encouraged family members to wear masks at home and provide a room for the infected to be quarantined. 

Families should also pay more attention to the toilets they share with the infected. 

Tsui continued that citizens should not treat Covid-19 as flu because the Omicron variant may further mutate and turn into a more deadly virus.