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Coronavirus pandemic
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong third wave: how did city’s scariest surge in Covid-19 cases start, and what did authorities miss?

  • Experts point to policy loopholes in handling returning domestic helpers and stopover sea or aircrew, as Post finds significant proportion among imported cases involve such groups
  • They also single out public complacency as another factor, stressing that government measures can only do so much

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Doctors say holes in the city’s border measures, a delayed government response and public complacency have led to the unprecedented outbreak. Photo: Nora Tam
Victor TingandElizabeth Cheung
Groups that were overlooked could be behind Hong Kong’s recent surge in coronavirus cases, experts have said, with the Post finding that three in 10 imported Covid-19 infections came from sea or aircrew members, while one in four came from domestic helpers.

As the city grapples with the third wave of a health crisis threatening to spin beyond control, doctors said holes in the city’s border measures, compounded by a delayed government response and public complacency, have led to the unprecedented outbreak.

Hong Kong’s daily count of infections hit a record high on Sunday, topping 100 and outstripping the previous peak of 65 in March during the second wave, with the current total tally of 1,958 surpassing 2003’s severe acute respiratory syndrome numbers.
A crowded cafe in Central, even as the city grapples with a third wave of Covid-19. Photo: Dickson Lee
A crowded cafe in Central, even as the city grapples with a third wave of Covid-19. Photo: Dickson Lee

The dreaded third wave emerged more than a fortnight ago on July 5 when a cook in a local restaurant got infected. The latest round of cases have involved elderly care homes, leading to a cluster of 44 patients linked to the Kong Tai Care for the Aged Centre Limited, as well as the district of Tsz Wan Shan, which has so far recorded more than 150 infections.

Facilities at the city’s public hospitals have also been stretched close to breaking point, with occupancy rates of isolation beds and wards reaching 71 and 77 per cent respectively, while 1,450 units at quarantine centres are occupied, with only 196 slots still available.

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