Hong Kong's leader has said she would not impose a mainland China-style hard lockdown as the city faces its worst coronavirus wave to date, even as she vowed no switch to living with Covid-19.
The comments came as hospitals began to buckle under the strain of rising infections with at least two medical facilities placing patients in beds outside their entrances.
No place in the world has managed to return to zero Covid cases after such an outbreak except mainland China, which has imposed citywide lockdowns and mass stay-at-home orders when even a handful of cases are detected.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam ruled out that approach. "We have no plans whatsoever to impose a complete, wholesale lockdown," she told reporters.