Sawt Falasteen - Hong Kong's Lam mulls easing Covid rules as public tolerance 'fading'

Carrie Lam's administration has been pummelled by all sides over its unclear public messaging and handling of Hong Kong's fifth wave, which has brought nearly a million cases and 4,600 deaths in less than three months.

The exponential jump in case numbers comes despite the finance hub putting in place border restrictions since the pandemic's start, and deploying some of the harshest social-distancing measures outside mainland China.

Since Omicron broke through in January, there have been bans on public gatherings of more than two, restrictions on night-time dining and mandatory masking while doing outdoor activities. The latest new restrictions came Thursday, when public beaches were closed.

Yet Lam told a press conference that "the time has come" to review the restrictions.

"Not because the number of cases has come down... but I have a very strong feeling that people's tolerance are fading," Lam said.

"Some of our financial institutions are losing patience about this sort of isolated status of Hong Kong."

When pressed on a roadmap for a way out of the crisis, she declined to give benchmarks.

"The most difficult part of fighting the virus is that we cannot fully predict what's going to happen," Lam said.

Despite two hard-won years of breathing room due to Hong Kong's adherence to the mainland's zero-Covid strategy, the city is currently seeing scenes reminiscent of the pandemic's start -- with mounting elderly deaths and overcrowded hospitals.

Authorities initially announced plans for mass testing of the city's 7.4 million people accompanied by a lockdown, and then rolled it back.

The panic fuelled by mixed messaging and further restrictions prompted a record-high exodus of 65,400 local and foreign residents from the finance hub in February.

International banks such as JPMorgan and Bank of America have been working on relocation plans in view of flight bans and potential lockdown, according to a Financial Times report last week.

Lam's near-daily press conferences about Covid have done little to stop rumours about plans for mass testing and lockdown -- which on Thursday she repeated had not been formally announced.

"I understand that society wants to have clear answers," she said, adding that an update would come "around March 20 or 21".

Researchers estimate Hong Kong's infection toll is significantly higher than official figures, likely already reaching half its population.

Q.Jaber--SF-PST