Virus-hit Hong Kong considers lockdown as bodies pile up

Hong Kong: Hong Kong may impose a China-style hard lockdown that confines people to their homes, authorities signalled Monday, with the city’s zero-Covid strategy in tatters and bodies piling up in hospitals.

Two years of strict zero-Covid policies kept the coronavirus largely bay but a breakthrough of the highly transmissible Omicron variant exposed how little authorities had done to prepare for a mass outbreak.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam previously ruled out a citywide lockdown and instead has ordered all 7.4 million residents to be tested in March. But in a U-turn, health secretary Sophia Chan confirmed on Monday that it was still an option. Asked by a presenter at Commercial Radio whether a lockdown was still ruled out she replied: "No. We are still discussing."