Grumbling grows as Hong Kong sticks with zero-COVID policy

Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly annoyed with the administration’s insistence on sticking to Beijing’s zero-COVID strategy as the city posted another record number of new cases

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly annoyed with the administration’s insistence on sticking to China's “zero-COVID” strategy as the city posted another record number of cases Wednesday, bristling at ever-stricter regulations and a plan to test everyone for the virus.

Schools have already switched to online learning and summer holidays are being moved forward so that the buildings can be used as facilities for testing, isolation and vaccination. Hong Kong says it will go ahead with the plan to test every one of its 7.5 million residents three times in March.

Under the “zero-COVID-19" strategy, every person testing positive case must be quarantined in a hospital or other government facility for 14 days regardless of symptoms. It's in contrast with most countries, which are reducing restrictions and allowing people with mild or no symptoms to remain at home.

“The whole world knows we have to live with the virus, only the Hong Kong government does not know,” said taxi driver Chan Tai-man. “Actually it's not that they don't know, they only do what the Chinese government tells them to.”