Hong Kong will order the first blockade in the Kowloon area, media say

Photographer: Anthony Kwan / Getty Images

Hong Kong, for the first time, will block tens of thousands of residents in an attempt to counter a worsening outbreak of coronavirus, local media reported Friday, citing unidentified individuals.

The blockade is expected to begin this weekend in Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon’s central urban district, the South China Morning Post and HK01 said. It covers a mandatory testing area where older buildings and subdivided apartments, populated by lower-income families, are common.

The SCMP had earlier indicated that parts of Sham Shui Po would be blocked, but were later updated to say the district would not be affected.

Hang Seng Index fell to 1.7% after Friday’s report.

Only residents who test negative for the Covid-19 test will be allowed to leave the blockage area, according to the SCMP report, specifying that exemptions will be allowed for those who need medical advice or face physical harm.

HK01 said each building will be guarded by government staff to ensure that people leaving the building have a negative test result. They will also send law enforcement officials to each apartment to make sure residents have taken a test.

The measures reported are pale in comparison to the blockades adopted in mainland China, where a harsh approach prohibits people from leaving their cities, districts or even their apartment complexes. But it is the most severe step Hong Kong has taken to control the pathogen and a blow to the government’s approach to trying to keep the economy largely functioning during the pandemic.

Targeted lock

Hong Kong to fence Yau Tsim Mong, one of the city’s densest neighborhoods in Kowloon District

Sources: GovHK, Office of Health and Nutrition

Despite almost two months of social distancing, the infection curve of the former British colony has ticked again, as colder weather and faster-spreading variants pose a greater threat.

The increase in cases, although much less dramatic compared to global cities such as London and New York, has led the government to impose restrictions such as the closure of schools and companies. But so far he has been reluctant to take stricter measures, such as blockades, out of concern. ignites a crisis in a city that has already been shaken by protests.

The city near Beijing is blocked, millions tested as the outbreak grows

Even a limited blockade in Hong Kong would introduce heavy traffic restrictions in the heavily populated city, with some of the smallest living spaces in the world – the average apartment is about 500 square meters. It is not uncommon for poorer residents in the affected areas of Kowloon to live in spaces large enough for just one bed, with a shared kitchen and toilet.

The blockade neighborhood is located in an older, lower-income neighborhood of Kowloon, though the density of the city means it’s within walking distance of bright skyscrapers, such as the International Commerce Center, where Morgan Stanley offices are located. and Credit Suisse Group AG.

The blockade will only be lifted when the government is satisfied that everyone has been tested in the area, the SCMP report said.

Leung Chi-chiu, former chairman of the advisory committee of the Hong Kong Medical Association for Communicable Diseases, said the stricter measures are meaningless because the cases are already found outside the designated areas. The spread will continue through cross-transmission within families and over multiple incubation periods, Leung said.

Stricter measures are in place as Hong Kong launches its vaccination program, which could help calm anxious residents as inoculation efforts begin earlier in mainland China and rival financial center Singapore. The government is expected to grant emergency approval for Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot shortly after its panel recommended the green light last week.

Hong Kong has recorded 167 deaths caused by Covid-19 – another half of the city’s tax on the 2003 Acute Severe Respiratory Syndrome pandemic or SARS, which killed nearly 300 people in the early 2000s.

The heavier restrictions also come as the neighboring city of Macau reported the first case imported in June.

– With the assistance of Felix Tam, Pablo Robles, Dominic Lau, Alfred Liu, Natalie Lung and Justin Chin

(Updates throughout)