COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong

Hong Kong was relatively unscathed by the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, and had a flatter epidemic curve than most other places, which observers consider remarkable given its status as an international transport hub.

[3] In a study published in April 2020 in the Lancet, the authors expressed their belief that border restrictions, quarantine and isolation, social distancing, and behavioural changes such as wearing masks likely all played a part in the containment of the disease up to the end of March.

[11] Hong Kong was one of few countries and territories to pursue a "zero-COVID" elimination strategy, by essentially closing all its borders and, until February 2022, subjecting even mild and asymptomatic cases to hospitalisation, and sometimes isolation extending over several weeks.

The fifth, Omicron variant driven wave of the pandemic emerging in late December 2021[12] caused the health system to be stretched to its limits, the mandatory hospitalization to be abandoned,[13] and led several experts to question the zero-COVID strategy.

University of Hong Kong infectious diseases expert Dr Ho Pak-Leung suspected such transmission had happened among cases in Wuhan, and urged "the most stringent" precautionary measures.

[61][62][63] On 28 January, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam announced enhanced measures to stop the novel coronavirus' spread, but short of closing all boundary control points.

[68] All facilities overseen by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), including all public museums, libraries and sports centres and venues, were closed until further notice as a precaution, on 29 January.

Gabriel Leung, member of an expert panel on the viral outbreak, warned the public about letting down their vigilance prematurely as Hong Kong was at the "highest risk" since the start of the pandemic.

[95] The office of Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned that an increase in confirmed cases would "inevitably" occur as long as Hong Kong citizens continued to return from abroad.

[106] On 5 May, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that the cap on public gatherings would be raised from four to eight people, and that a number of businesses including beauty salons and gyms would be allowed to reopen subject to precautions.

[75] The Hong Kong Government extended the social distancing measures for two more weeks, until 18 June, after six people were confirmed infected, including a female employee at Kerry Logistics warehouse in Kwai Chung, her husband, two colleagues and the paramedic.

[119] On 28 July, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan admitted that there was "empirical evidence" that quarantine exemption policies for over 30 groups of inbound travellers – including cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers, aircraft crew members, government officials on duty, and numerous company executives – had contributed to the recent increase in coronavirus cases.

[129] On 20 November, Secretary for Food & Health Sophia Chan today said the Government has prioritised three groups (those with symptoms, elderly care home staff and taxi drivers) to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing.

Regarding the establishment of a hotline for the public to report breaches on social distancing regulation, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she hoped that people would not "overreact" with fears of surveillance, describing the measure as "jointly shouldering responsibility".

[9] Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said on 6 December that the fourth wave had been expected in view of imperfect border controls, deficient adherence to hygiene regulations by restaurants and bars, and an only lukewarm adoption of tracing apps by the public.

[134] A further tightening of restrictions saw, among other measures, restaurants to close by 6:00 p.m. starting from 10 December, and a mandate for authorities to order partial lockdowns in locations with multiple cases of COVID-19 until all residents were tested.

[145] Four unannounced lockdowns were imposed in Yuen Long, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon City, and Yau Ma Tei in the evening of 1 February, with no positive cases found.

[168] On 17 April, more than 80 residents of Parkes Building in the Jordan area were quarantined after a 29-year-old Indian man there, was tested positive for a highly transmissible N501Y mutant strain, marking the first local case of the mutated variant.

[176][177] The government declared mandatory testing and vaccination for foreign domestic helpers, principally from the Philippines and Indonesia, after cases were discovered, but reversed the decision in May following crititicisms from labour organisations of discrimination.

[187] On 19 August 2021, Hong Kong and the Singapore government decided not to further pursue a bilateral air travel bubble due to the differences in the anti-epidemic strategies currently adopted by the two places.

[204] On recording a growing number of cases the city enforced restrictions on public places such as bars, gyms and beauty salons by adopting the "zero Covid" policy of mainland China.

[205] During February, the fifth wave of the pandemic with its rapidly increasing case numbers forced the city government to give up its previous protocols for testing, quarantine, treatment and discharge from hospitals.

[208] On 15 February, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping stressed to the Hong Kong government that it had to take the "main responsibility" in containing the coronavirus pandemic and placing top priority on stability and people's lives.

[240] A charitable foundation linked to local developers, Sino Group and Chinese Estates Holdings, offered a brand-new apartment in Kwun Tong valued at $1.4 million in a prize draw for Hong Kong residents who have received two vaccine doses.

[243][244] From the outset, Macau demonstrated a faster and better coordinated response,[245] introduced firm measures to limit the flow of people from mainland China, and implemented comprehensive collection and effective usage of big data.

[248] As the major border checkpoints such as Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Huanggang remained open, public sector health workers, as represented by Hospital Authority Employees' Alliance – a newly formed union – decried the government measures as "too little, too late".

[253] Pundits noted that after the turmoil caused by her bungled handling of the extradition bill enactment, Carrie Lam lacked the political capital to make the demand for full border closure – something the Chinese government was not inclined to accede to.

[252] Neglected categories of arrivals in Hong Kong were said by experts to be responsible for imported COVID-19 infections between 8 and 21 July in 2020 – 34 cases (30 per cent) were sea or aircrew members, and 28 (25 percent) were domestic helpers.

[257] A second contractor, BGI Group (华大基因; 華大基因), one of the biggest companies conducting coronavirus testing in China,[258] had a subsidiary blacklisted by the US government on allegations of taking DNA from Uyghurs in Xinjiang for surveillance purposes.

[266][267] Nicole Kidman's arrival in the city for filming of the Amazon Prime series Expats, based on the book The Expatriates by Hong Kong-born Korean writer Janice Y. K. Lee was the subject of controversy.