Rivals Singapore and Hong Kong have become pandemic polar opposites, the former opting to live with the coronavirus and reopen to the world while the latter doubles down on zero-COVID and its international isolation.For decades the two cities have jostled to be Asia's premier international business hub, offering low taxes, dependable legal systems and seamless global connections.Both adopted strict suppression tactics when the pandemic emerged, closing borders to keep infections low with

The scene was grim at Caritas Medical Centre last week.Just outside the hospital's emergency room, dozens of hospital beds had been placed in an alley under makeshift tents. The air was punctuated by the moans of patients – most of whom were elderly – and cries of children. All were suspected or confirmed COVID cases waiting to be admitted."It felt like we were in a wartime refugee camp. It was depressing. We were tearful, but there was no more space in the ward.

Hong Kong's population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city's leader said Tuesday, as she confirmed mainland Chinese officials were stepping up oversight of the financial hub's response to its worst outbreak yet.The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of a record virus surge with thousands of confirmed cases every day threatening to overwhelm hospitals and the city's strict isolation system.On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam r

Construction crews from mainland China were helping Hong Kong build two temporary isolation facilities to house thousands of coronavirus patients on Sunday as a senior official declared the city "in full combat mode".The crowded Chinese financial hub is in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering thousands of confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach breaking point.A strict zero-COVID policy like China uses kept infections at bay for two years but left the city

Hong Kong is in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, as residents are suddenly confronted with a severely overstretched healthcare system and a tightening of restrictions even as much of the world opens up.The city's strict but successful "zero-COVID" policy had largely kept the virus out for months.But when the highly transmissible Omicron variant broke through Hong Kong's defences, authorities were caught flat-footed with a dangerously under-vaccinated popu

Huddled under blankets and thermal shields, dozens of elderly patients shivered on gurneys outside a hospital serving one of Hong Kong's poorest communities – a grim tableau for the city as its health system buckles under an Omicron-fuelled coronavirus wave.We call this the fever zone," a nurse in full-body protective gear told AFP, declining to be named.

Pet hamsters can transmit COVID to humans and are the likely source of a recent outbreak of the Delta variant in Hong Kong, data suggests.The research confirms fears that a pet shop was the source of a recent COVID outbreak in the city, which has seen at least 50 people infected and led to the culling of more than 2,200 hamsters.However, virologists emphasised that, although the pet trade could provide a route for viral spread, existing pet hamsters are unlikely to pose a threat to their owne

When Hong Kong made a COVID check-in app mandatory at restaurants, friends Birdy and Bu – wary of government tracking – decided to avoid eateries entirely and go for picnics instead.The idea caught fire: their private social media picnic group has swelled from 50 in December to more than 6,000 members, as many look to avoid sharing data in a city where distrust of the Beijing-backed authorities runs deep.Instead of scanning QR codes at restaurants with the government's "Leave Home S

Hong Kong's U-turn on its mandatory three-week quarantine for arrivals follows growing scrutiny of the strict policy after a coronavirus outbreak was traced to a woman infected during her hotel stay.Like mainland China, Hong Kong is one of the few places left in the world still pursuing a zero-COVID strategy that has largely kept the virus at bay but left the finance hub internationally isolated.On Thursday, city leader Carrie Lam announced the 21-day quarantine period that most arrivals

Hong Kong authorities said Sunday that one of 77 hamsters handed in by pet owners for a COVID cull has tested positive, as thousands of city residents remain under lockdown to combat an outbreak.The financial services hub adheres to mainland China's strict "zero-COVID" policy under which even the slightest sign of the virus is stamped out with contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and long quarantines.More than 2,000 hamsters have been culled after some imported from the Netherla