Hong Kong is witnessing it’s one of the worst infections, which is causing business tensions across the city

A spike has been recorded in the cases, which has put Hong Kong’s zero-Covid policy to test against the coronavirus. The governmental authorities have started blaming the omicron variant and the extreme transmission speed for bringing the fifth wave of infection to the city. Daily new cases have registered nearly 60 times growth since the beginning of the month when Hong Kong started reporting over 100 cases a day. The daily infections have converted into thousands and on Wednesday registered 8,674 cases. Hong Kong authorities started last week that the country was reporting more confirmed cases across the fifth wave that have been reported in 2020 as well as 2021. The onslaught of the fifth wave has levied an enormous blow to Hong Kong and got the city overwhelmed with the capacity to handle the cases.

However, some officials are still abiding by the statement of not imposing a widespread city lockdown. As far as Hong Kong gets concerned, the country is required to penetrate its way out of the epidemic, and thus far, the measures have remained strong in containing the spread of disease. In February, one executive stated that the city would remain working with a “dynamic zero” strategy until the vaccination rollout reaches over 90%. The Hong Kong government has been describing such “dynamic zero” strategies as having a target of achieving “zero infections”. It is a strategy that the authorities have repeatedly stated to be the most effective in tackling a pandemic. It entails measures including mass community testing, contact tracing, sewage surveillance, and border controls for keeping out any of the imported cases.

In addition to the travel curbs as well as the growing US-China tensions, the country believes that the concern for the national security law, as well as the changes toward Hong Kong’s political system (including the overhaul of the city’s electoral system), have presented some weaker challenges to Hong Kong’s appeal for foreign companies and investors in becoming an international hub.