HONG KONG (AFP) - Shoppers thronged Hong Kong's markets fearing a shortage of food Wednesday (Feb 9), familiar scenes in a city that is back under gruelling Covid restrictions in contrast to much of the world.
Hong Kong has followed mainland China in maintaining a strict zero-Covid policy that has kept infections low through targeted lockdowns and extensive social distancing measures.
On Wednesday the city recorded 1,161 new infections, a daily record but a number that pales in comparison with outbreaks around the world.
The Omicron-fuelled spike has alarmed authorities and leader Carrie Lam announced renewed curbs on the 7.5 million residents of the financial hub.
In scenes reminiscent of early 2020, when the coronavirus first emerged in China, Hong Kongers this week scrambled to stock up as panic set in over food supply shocks.
"It feels like the government isn't prepared at all, and we ordinary citizens can only look out for ourselves," a woman surnamed Siu, 42, told AFP.
She was among the throng of morning shoppers anxious over fresh produce supply, which the city mostly imports from the mainland.
This week a cross-border truck driver tested positive for Covid-19, spurring a temporary hold-up of delivery trucks.
Hong Kong's vegetable supply has since decreased by about a third, the government said.
The shortage - coupled with business savvy among suddenly popular vegetable sellers - has sent produce prices in Hong Kong's wet markets soaring with shelves in supermarkets sitting bare.
"I don't remember vegetables ever being this expensive," Ms Siu said, adding that her daily grocery bill had doubled this week.
Choy sum - a leafy green popular in Chinese cuisine - now costs around HK$25 (S$4.30) for half a kilogram, double its usual price.
A vegetable stall owner told AFP his supply, sparse earlier in the week, has recovered - for now.
"Hopefully things can get back to normal - I don't know how long we can keep this up," he said as he fielded shouted requests from customers.
Hair salons are set to close by Thursday - sending Hong Kongers rushing to barbers for a last-minute trim.
Five hair salons in Central district said they were fully booked.
"They say the closure is temporary but who knows when it will reopen," said a man surnamed Cheung as he waited for a haircut.
"It feels like we have gone back to the start of the pandemic. It's very dispiriting."
Hong Kongers also took to social media to express their frustration.
"We have done all you ask, we sat quietly as mental health takes a toll, as families are torn apart and as businesses close down because it is all in the hope of China reopening our borders," wrote one resident in an open letter that went viral.
"You have tried for two years, and failed," it continued.
"When will you stop holding the citizens of this... city hostage?"
