Pandemic postcard: COVID outbreak leaves Hong Kong in limbo

HONG KONG (AP) — As a COVID-19 outbreak overwhelms Hong Kong, it’s hard for its 7.4 million residents to know what’s next.

Uncertainty is the only certainty as store shelves are stripped of goods, mainland Chinese companies throw up sprawling isolation and testing centers and the government sends mixed messages on whether it will lock down the population for a citywide mass testing.

Pandemic restrictions have sucked much of the energy out of a cosmopolitan city known for its neon lights and dense crowds. The latest closure, announced Wednesday, is public beaches. An overburdened health system means those who get infected often have to fend for themselves. And the death toll, particularly among the elderly, keeps rising.

“It’s a helpless situation,” said Wong Wing-tsang, a single mother who spent days trying to get a doctor’s appointment for her 10-year-old daughter who tested positive earlier this month. “We can only count on ourselves.”

After keeping the virus mostly at bay for nearly two years, Hong Kong authorities have been unable to bring under control an outbreak driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. So many people have been infected that there aren’t enough drivers for the city buses and subways or clerks to keep some stores open.

China has responded by sending experts, medical staff and construction crews, expanding capacity but also raising fears that Hong Kong might adopt tough mainland-style restrictions, notably its lockdowns of entire cities.

Anxious residents have stockpiled daily necessities, as the government flip-flops on plans for mass testing and a possible lockdown. Infections among truck drivers interrupted shipments of meat and vegetables from mainland China, prompting worries of shortages and deliveries by sea.

“Honestly, I think...