THE GUARDIAN – Hong Kong has invoked emergency powers to allow doctors and nurses from China to practice in the financial hub as it struggles to tackle a spiraling coronavirus outbreak.
Chinese mainland medics are not typically allowed to practice in Hong Kong without passing local exams and licensing regulations.
“The regulation will provide a legal framework for the CPG (central people’s government) to render the necessary emergent support to Hong Kong,” the government said.
The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of its worst-ever Covid wave, registering thousands of cases every day, overwhelming hospitals and the city’s requirement that all patients are isolated in dedicated units.
Local authorities adopted a zero-Covid strategy similar to China to keep infections mostly at bay for two years.
But they were caught flat-footed when the highly infectious Omicron variant broke through those defenses and have increasingly called on the Chinese mainland for help … read more.
Hong Kong’s toughest restrictions
CNN – February 24, 2022
For almost two years, Hong Kong relied on a combination of stringent quarantines and track-and-trace efforts to isolate positive cases, keeping the city comparatively virus-free.
But those measures no longer appear sufficient in the face of the latest wave, which officials have described as a “tsunami.”
Hong Kong has reported about five times more cases in the past three weeks than the entire pandemic combined. On Wednesday, the city reported a record 8,674 new cases — the vast majority the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Still, Hong Kong continues to adhere to China’s strict zero-Covid policy, and in an effort to combat the surging fifth wave — predicted to peak in the next three weeks — the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, on Tuesday announced its toughest restrictions yet … READ MORE.
