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Until the last few weeks, Hong Kong had been a model of Covid control, barely registering on international league tables. The region had been successful at preventing the spread of Covid-19, with testing and isolation measures proving effective. However, currently, Covid daily deaths per capita of the population have exceeded anything seen around the world, though the culmulative number remains relatively low.

Professor of Virology at Hong Kong University, Malik Peiris, outlines the problems that have led to this latest surge - with low vaccination rates amongst the elderly and a leak from a quarantine hotel that resulted in mass infections from the new Omicron variant. He is also concerned about increased infection risks from certain rodents and household pets.

"The number of deaths at the end of last year was a bit over 200 - now it's 2,300 or thereabouts, and deaths are going to increase."

Photo: Medical workers move a patient on a stretcher at a hospital in Hong Kong, March 2022

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