China-style Lockdown in Hong Kong

Chan announced the lockdown measures this evening

China's severe lockdown practices have come to Hong Kong in a bid to keep its zero-Covid strategy. Will we see people in hazmat suits bolting down people's homes a la Wuhan next?

Tonight, some 2,700 residents in Yat Kwai House, a housing block in Kwai Chung Estate will be stuck in home quarantine for the next five days to prevent the possible spread of Omicron. There were 20 positive cases found in this residential area.

The housing block will be locked down for 5 days

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee made the announcement this evening at at 6pm press conference -- when there's a late press conference on a Friday evening it's not going to be good news.

"We understand with this operation, people might feel there is some inconvenience such as not being able to go to work," Chan said. 

"We really appeal to employers if they have employees caught in this operation that, I hope, they will treat this in a more open and understanding manner so they won't deduct people's salary and things like that.

"The most important aim is really to identify or detect cases within the building, and secondly we want to stop the transmission chain from going further, therefore this is for the common good."

While Chan explained it was not necessary to evacuate residents because the outbreak was due to environmental contamination, not building structural issues, the main reason is because Penny's Bay quarantine camp is full.

The last time the government ordered a lockdown lasting more than 24 hours was last January, when residents in 70 blocks in Jordan could not go out for 48 hours.

People must be tested each of the five days

Residents of Yat Kwai House will have to be tested everyday for five days, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided for them. Anyone who fails to comply will be subjected to a HK$5,000 fine, and further violations could lead to a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a HK$25,000 fine.

Earlier it was reported a Pakistani woman who stayed in a quarantine hotel for 21 day became positive a few days after she came out, and already infected others. One of them was her unvaccinated husband, who went to Yat Kwai House to pick up recycling items from waste bins and infected a cleaner there. The cleaner had spread the virus across 13 floors affecting 12 households, as well as building staff.

The cleaner had had two doses of Sinovac.

Meanwhile, animal activists are trying to save as many hamsters as they can, intercepting people surrendering their rodent pets, explaining to them they legally do not have to do that. Some video footage has shown people giving their pets to these activists, who promise to look after their pets without exchanging any contact information.

Some activists protect hamsters as resistance

Some of these activists were interviewed by the media today. And while they asked to be anonymous and turned their backs to the camera while being interviewed, they also requested their voices to be altered too.

This is the state of Hong Kong now, as resisting giving up hamsters is seen as an act of dissent against the government. Even hamsters are seen as symbols of resistance...

Tonight two more pet shops have hamsters testing positive for Covid-19, I Love Rabbit in Causeway Bay and Tai Po. People who visited these shops must get tested, while staff members will have to undergo quarantine. Will another culling take place?