HONG KONG, Feb 28, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Hong Kong may impose a China-style hard
lockdown that confines people to their homes, authorities signalled Monday,
with the city's zero-Covid strategy in tatters and bodies piling up in
hospitals.

   Two years of strict zero-Covid policies kept the coronavirus largely bay
but a breakthrough of the highly transmissible Omicron variant exposed how
little authorities had done to prepare for a mass outbreak.

   Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam previously ruled out a citywide lockdown and
instead has ordered all 7.4 million residents to be tested in March.

   But in a U-turn, health secretary Sophia Chan confirmed on Monday that it
was still an option.

   Asked by a presenter at Commercial Radio whether a lockdown was still
ruled out she replied: "No. We are still discussing."

   "From a public health perspective, to bring out the best effect of
compulsory universal testing, we need to reduce people's movements to some
extent," she added.

   "In order to reduce movements, residents should remain at home or avoid
outings as much as possible".

   The announcement adds fresh uncertainty and anxiety for residents and
businesses in a city gripped by the kind of chaos that was more familiar at
the start of the pandemic.

   Hong Kong announced 26,000 new infections and 83 deaths on Sunday alone.
Before the current wave, the city had recorded just 12,000 cases from the
start of the pandemic.

   Hospitals have been stretched to breaking point for weeks and on Sunday
officials revealed bodies are piling up at hospitals because mortuaries are
full. "At this moment, we face a problem of transportation of dead bodies
from hospital to public mortuary," Hospital Authority chief manager Lau Ka-
hin told reporters.

   "That's why there are some bodies who were initially planned to be
transported to public mortuary, but stayed in hospital."

   Hong Kong's seven-day average death rate is currently running at around
eight per one million people.

   That compares with five per million for the United States, 1.80 for
Britain and 1.36 for Singapore which, like Hong Kong, initially opted for
zero-Covid but shifted more recently to a mitigation strategy and reopening
to the wider world.

   On Sunday officials revealed that 91 percent of those who have died in the
current wave were not fully vaccinated.

   The vast majority of the dead are elderly with the virus ripping through
care homes in the densely populated city.

   Despite ample supplies Hong Kong had poor vaccination rates among over-70s
before Omicron struck.

   China is now increasingly calling the shots on Hong Kong's response.

   A taskforce led by top mainland officials is operating out of the
neighbouring city of Shenzhen.

   Mainland crews are working on constructing a series of temporary hospitals
and isolation wards for the infected, although the current caseload far
outstrips supply.