Hong Kong bans all flights from U.S. and seven other countries as omicron spreads

HONG KONG — Hong Kong officials connected Wednesday implemented the city’s strictest restrictions ever since coronavirus was archetypal detected present 2 twelvemonth ago, including banning each rider flights from 8 countries, arsenic it holds steadfast to a “zero-covid” argumentation amid a increasing outbreak of the caller omicron variant.

Hong Kong lone has a fistful of assemblage infections, including six omicron cases linked to a edifice cluster. But the harsh restrictions are successful portion a effect to the territory’s comparatively debased vaccination rates, peculiarly among the elderly. Only astir 20 percent of those supra 80 years aged are afloat vaccinated.

The restrictions besides underscore however Hong Kong is hardening connected its pandemic argumentation of eradicating the microorganism successful the assemblage astatine each outgo with the purpose of zero caller infections, adjacent if it is leaving the planetary fiscal hub increasingly isolated and eroding its planetary competitiveness.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, announcing the caller measures, described them arsenic much “decisive and comprehensive” than immoderate different restrictions the metropolis has seen implicit the past 2 years. Passenger flights from the 8 countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan and the Philippines, had to beryllium suspended, Lam said, due to the fact that of a “drastic” summation successful imported coronavirus cases.

“We are connected the verge of different outbreak,” she said.

Those routes are the astir heavy trafficked into and retired of Hong Kong, and see astir of the cities wherever residents are returning from. The suspension volition instrumentality effect from Jan. 8, and past for 2 weeks earlier it is reviewed. The formation bans are the astir wide regularisation connected question into Hong Kong since the pandemic began, though authorities periodically prohibition definite hose routes if they are recovered to beryllium carrying respective travelers infected with coronavirus.

Hong Kong is besides returning to immoderate of the strictest societal distancing measures, including a prohibition connected eating successful restaurants aft 6 p.m. and the closure of facilities including gyms and quality parlors. Life successful the metropolis had mostly been mean successful caller months, with bars, clubs, schools and different places unfastened and packed, arsenic authorities congratulated themselves for bringing assemblage cases down to zero. Lam was besides readying to reopen the borderline with the mainland, a precedence for Hong Kong.

For the clip being, schools stay open.

The metropolis discovered its archetypal assemblage transmission of the omicron variant connected New Year’s Eve, aft an infected formation attendant broke location isolation rules and dined retired astatine a restaurant. That corruption concatenation has rapidly grown into a cluster, with the latest adjacent contacts brought backmost onshore from a “cruise to nowhere” that was sailing astir Hong Kong waters and ordered into a authorities isolation facility.

In a quality league Wednesday announcing the caller restriction, officials acknowledged that infected travelers returning from destinations overseas are vaccinated, and truthful unchangeable and not putting undue strain connected the infirmary system. Hong Kong has mandatory hospitalization for affirmative coronavirus cases, adjacent those who are asymptomatic.

But if the microorganism spreads much broadly successful the assemblage — with vaccination rates inactive lagging — the metropolis volition beryllium successful a “risky” position, said Tony Ko, main enforcement of Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority.

The caller infections person prompted a unreserved to vaccination centers crossed the island, galore of which are booked up for the adjacent weeks. Both the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccines and the Sinovac vaccines person been disposable for astir a year.

Hong Kong has not articulated a program for reopening oregon loosening borderline restrictions, mirroring the “zero-covid” argumentation connected the mainland alternatively than shifting to the strategy of surviving with the microorganism being adopted elsewhere successful the world. Lam, speaking Wednesday, said she could not perpetrate to immoderate easing of restrictions adjacent if the vaccination complaint hits a definite percent of the population.