As Hong Kong battles a new wave of coronavirus infections with yet another round of social restrictions, a sense of fatigue with the confusing and inconsistent nature of the city’s pandemic response is setting in among business owners and residents.
Though the Asian financial center has thus far been relatively unscathed — total COVID-19 cases amount to just 81 cases per 100,000 people out of a densely packed 7 million population — the city has encountered more waves than most other places and is entering its fourth round of stop-start restrictions.
"Hong Kong has undoubtedly been lucky with the pandemic so far. What has been missing is a clear, public road map as to how and when restrictions will be implemented and when the rules will be relaxed,” said Nicholas Thomas, associate professor in health security at the City University of Hong Kong.