Struggle for patients to isolate in HK's tiny apartments

HONG KONG • Hong Kong's biggest Covid-19 outbreak has left tens of thousands of patients struggling to isolate themselves from their families in one of the world's most crowded cities.

Growing numbers of infected people are recuperating at home as hospitals have been stretched to their limits, but the predicament for Hong Kong residents is more severe, given the tight living space.

Ms Lam, a teacher in her 20s who declined to give her full name, had to stay home for almost a week after testing positive, before she was sent to the quarantine camp. She lives in a two-bedroom apartment of about 28 sq m with her parents and a brother. Her brother, who shares a bedroom with her, had to sleep in the living room.

Living space is notoriously small in the city of 7.4 million. The median area of accommodation for each resident was about 15 sq m as at 2016 - less than half the 39.8 sq m average home area per person in urban China in 2019.

In Hong Kong's densest area Kowloon, there were on average 49,060 people per sq km in 2020, compared with Singapore's 7,485 in 2021. That, combined with the outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant, has resulted in a greater risk of infection.

Hong Kong's coronavirus cases have exploded in recent weeks after months of no community transmission, leaving isolation facilities full. There are an estimated 30,000 Covid-19 patients waiting at home, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday.

Yesterday, the city reported 8,674 new cases.

Meanwhile, parents are being separated from their children and babies who test positive for the coronavirus.

Dr Lau Ka-hin, an official from the Hospital Authority, said: "We tried our best to arrange for the children and the parents who are confirmed Covid-positive to be in the same hospital so that the parents can take care of the children. But there are many, many cases and many children are infected."

The situation has prompted lawmaker Michael Tien to say that the government should impose a strict, citywide lockdown for a specific period of time, rather than prolong social-distancing restrictions that are strangling businesses.

Mr Tien is the first legislator to call so prominently for a mainland-style lockdown, with Mrs Lam repeatedly dismissing the prospect, saying the city will instead engage in mass testing and may consider localised stay-at-home orders.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE