HK won't tighten curbs before July despite fresh surge

HONG KONG • Hong Kong will not tighten virus curbs before July 1 despite rising Covid-19 cases because hospitals are not overwhelmed, the city's outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam said.

"The increase in number of positive cases has not brought unbearable pressure on the healthcare system, and that is attributable to the nature of Omicron," Mrs Lam said yesterday at the final weekly news conference of her term that ends on June 30.

Hong Kong reported 737 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, down from more than 800 on both Saturday and Sunday, but more than double the figures from last month. Of the 371 people hospitalised with Covid-19, only three were in intensive care, with most other patients either asymptomatic or reporting mild infections, said Mrs Lam.

Based on that situation, "until the end of June, we will not make any significant adjustments or relaxations" to virus curbs, she said, adding that the city still needed to be cautious about imported cases and maintain measures such as mask wearing and limitations on large gatherings.

Mrs Lam also said the city needs to find a balance between the dual objectives of relaxing the international border controls that are key to its reputation as a financial hub and creating the right conditions to resume quarantine-free travel with the mainland.

China is still pursuing a strict zero-Covid-19 policy of trying to eliminate all cases.

While Mrs Lam acknowledged that business chambers had pushed for Hong Kong to scrap the mandatory seven-day hotel quarantine for incoming travellers, she said she could not ease measures without knowing the plans of her successor John Lee.

If Hong Kong were to relax quarantine rules, "but then in two weeks' time the new government decided that, perhaps, this needed to be reverted to a more tightened approach, that would create a lot of confusion", said Mrs Lam.

Hong Kong's lobby group for fund managers has urged Mr Lee to scrap quarantine rules for travellers and open up to the rest of the world as urgency is needed to restore the city's status as an international financial centre.

Mr Lee's term will begin on July 1, the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule - a major event that Chinese President Xi Jinping is believed to be preparing to travel to the city to mark, if favourable conditions are met.

Mrs Lam did not confirm whether the city's rising case numbers would prevent the Chinese leader from visiting, a trip that would mark his first outside mainland China since January 2020.

"We, of course, would like to have a cheerful atmosphere to celebrate the reunification," she said.

BLOOMBERG