Hong Kong on Friday extended the flight from eight countries through March 4, 2022, and also added Nepal to the list.
Flights from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines, and Nepal are banned, while the city tries to fight a losing battle of keeping zero covid policy in tandem with the mainland.
Here’s an excerpt from Bloomberg:
Hong Kong is doubling down on a Covid-Zero strategy that has failed almost everywhere else, battering its economy and threatening its status as an international financial center just as much of the world learns to live with the virus.
The result is growing frustration among local residents, expatriates and business leaders with a government seen to be pursuing a futile policy in the hopes of appeasing China’s ruling Communist Party.
Hong Kong must adhere to a Covid-Zero policy as any move toward living with the virus will severely damage the city’s development and health of its residents, the People’s Daily said in a commentary published on Monday.
And from Reuters:
Hong Kong’s stubborn pursuit of zero COVID infections has stretched hospital and quarantine facilities nearly to their limit in the global financial hub, raising the near-term prospect of changes to admissions and isolation policies.
Despite only a handful of COVID-19 patients being in critical condition, some hospitals are already full, mostly with people suffering little more than a sore throat. Asymptomatic patients and close contacts take up beds in quarantine.
Medical experts are also worried about an expected surge of infections that could dramatically increase severe infections, especially among the largely-unvaccinated elderly.
Conclusion
I would not buy any flights for the foreseeable future on Cathay Pacific or make plans to visit Hong Kong before 2023 at the earliest, while Hong Kong’s non-democratically elected government tries to please the mainland and continue with its zero covid policy that is destined to fail.
