Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Monday there were no current plans to further tighten strict social distancing measures as authorities battle to contain a deepening coronavirus outbreak which has submerged its health system and seen deaths soar.
Lam said there was limited room to tighten further, with the global financial hub already having put in place the strictest measures since its COVID strategy began in 2020. Gatherings of more than two people are banned, most venues are shut - including schools - and masks are compulsory everywhere, even when exercising outdoors.
Hong Kong has reported more than 700,000 infections and about 4,000 deaths, most of them taking place in the past three weeks. The former British colony has followed mainland China's 'dynamic zero' COVID strategy which seeks to curb all outbreaks as soon as they occur. But deaths have spiked, particularly amongst its mostly unvaccinated elderly, with the city registering the most deaths per million people globally in the week to March 10, according to data publication Our World in Data.
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