Covid-19 Cases Climb past the 55K Mark

Times Square shopping mall is devoid of customers

Hong Kong has yet another record of 55,353 positive cases today -- reaching over 50,000, one day before the modelling anticipated it. And it doesn't include all those who used their own rapid antigen tests to discover they are positive... some estimate there could be hundreds of thousands of cases in the community now.

There were 160 deaths reported, of which 117 were in the past 24 hours, 43 were backlogged. Of the 117 deaths, 95 were unvaccinated with an age range of 58 to 100 years old.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor again reiterated there would be no full citywide lockdown, as there weren't enough isolation facilities to house all the positive cases, but had no further details. 

That led to another day of panic buying in the city, and food suppliers were exasperated in trying to explain that the food is coming, but everyone is freaking out and buying whatever they can get their hands on.

Meanwhile businessman Allan Zeman who started out in textiles and owns most of Lan Kwai Fong, and used to head Ocean Park and turn it around, wrote an open letter to Lam, saying Hong Kong residents need clarity on how the government is going to take control of the fifth wave, as rumours are scaring people and it is not good for their mental health.

"There are too many rumours floating around and such a feeling of uncertainty, we need very clear messaging giving people hope and direction for an end to this nightmare," he wrote. "People feel they are getting punished for being infected."

Zeman is saying what all of us are thinking throughout the letter.

In the end he also reminded Lam that many people have lost their jobs and businesses shut down due to the restrictive measures and that subsidies were needed to keep everyone alive.

Will she listen?

A colleague thinks the national security police may come knocking on Zeman's door...

So many restaurants, cafes, stores, banks, post offices, and even convenience stores like 7-Eleven are closed because they have had infections or they are worried for their staff and limit services even more.

Even the MTR is affected, having fewer trains in service than before, especially in the evenings. The Star Ferry in Wan Chai stops service at 9pm. Shopping malls are dead by 6pm.

Island Beverly mall in Causeway Bay

"There is absolutely no one here [in the mall], not even on weekends. Most shops are closed," said Chloe Cheung, who owns a small boutique in Island Beverly mall. She planned to shut down when the lease expired in June.

"The lockdown is not that necessary. It is a ghost town now."

Indeed. Anyone who is out and about near dinner time are rushing to get back home with dinner in takeaway bags.

It is painful to see Hong Kong deserted like this. The only other time no one is around and everything is shut is when there is a typhoon. But the fears of a lockdown and the sheer exponential rise in the number of cases has already made people uneasy and not want to go out.

How people and businesses will make it out alive -- and sane -- from this latest wave will be nothing short of a miracle. And we badly need one.