Hong Kong Sets COVID-19 Infection Record: Government Votes Zero-COVID, Citizens Fight For Vegetables

JAKARTA - Vegetable supplies were running low in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with shoppers scrambling to buy whatever they could find, while the government blamed a surge in COVID-19 infections for a decline in fresh produce shipments from the mainland.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam will announce further COVID-19 restrictions at a later date, after the city reported a record more than 600 new cases on Monday. Broadcaster TVB said there were at least 380 confirmed infections as of Tuesday with 400 initial positive tests.

Speaking at a weekly news briefing, Carrie Lam said shipments of vegetables from across the border had fallen as truck drivers tested positive for the virus, but she offered no specific solution to address the shortage.

Shelves holding vegetables were empty in many supermarkets in the city, while crowds flooded the fresh market to buy the limited produce available. However, other foods are still available.

At a market in downtown Wan Chai market on Tuesday morning, a staff member from the Qiandama vegetable shop, shouted at the crowd not to enter.

"There are no more vegetables in it. It's like a battlefield," he said as people tried to rush in.

Some fruit and vegetable stalls selling mainland Chinese produce were closed while others were selling produce at twice the usual price.

For now, Lam said, the best option is to adhere to the "dynamic zero" strategy used by mainland China to suppress all coronavirus outbreaks as soon as possible.

The Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, has encouraged Hong Kong to follow China's approach to containing the virus in an editorial on Monday.

"We have to contain the spread of the virus as much and as quickly as possible," Lam said.

Hong Kong's strict coronavirus policies have, transformed one of the top global travel and businesses, into one of the most isolated megacities in the world.

The economic and psychological toll of the hardline approach is increasing rapidly, with measures becoming more draconian than those first implemented at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Flights are down by about 90 percent, schools, playgrounds, gyms and most other places are closed. The restaurant closes at 6pm. While most people, including most civil servants, work from home.

Meanwhile, government quarantine facilities are also nearing maximum, as authorities struggle to keep up with rigid contact tracing schemes.

Many health experts say the current strategy of shutting down, as the rest of the world turns to living with the coronavirus, is unsustainable.

Doctors say mental health suffers, especially in families where people are on lower incomes, or children can't go to school because of restrictions.

To note, Hong Kong reported a record 614 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, health authorities said, in the biggest test of its zero-COVID strategy as it grapples to contain the growing outbreak.