The COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020. Confirmed cases were generally transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital's Infectious Disease Centre for isolation and centralised treatment. On 5 February, after a five-day strike by front-line medical workers, the Hong Kong government closed all but three border control points, with Hong Kong International Airport, Shenzhen Bay Control Point, and Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge Control Point remaining open.
Hong Kong was relatively unscathed by the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, and had a flatter epidemic curve than most other places, which observers consider remarkable given its status as an international transport hub. Furthermore, its proximity to China and its millions of mainland visitors annually would make it vulnerable. Some experts now believe the habit of wearing masks in public since the SARS epidemic of 2003 may have helped keep its confirmed infections at 845, with four deaths, by the beginning of April. In a study published in April 2020 in the Lancet, the authors expressed their belief that border restrictions, quarantine and isolation, social distancing, and behavioural changes such as wearing masks likely all played a part in the containment of the disease up to the end of March. Others attributed the success to critical thinking of citizens who have become accustomed to distrusting the competence and political motivations of the government, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese Communist Party.
After a much smaller second wave in late March and April 2020 caused by overseas returnees rushing to beat mandatory quarantine, Hong Kong saw a substantial uptick in COVID cases in July, with more than a hundred cases being reported several days in a row until early August. Experts attributed this third wave to imported cases – sea crew, aircrew members, and domestic helpers made up the majority of 3rd wave infections. In late November 2020 the city entered a fourth wave, called "severe" by Chief Executive Carrie Lam. The initial driver behind the fourth wave was a group of dance clubs in which wealthy, predominantly female Hong Kongers danced together and had dance lessons with mostly younger male dance instructors. Measures taken in response included a suspension of school classroom teaching until the end of the year, and an order for restaurants to seat only two persons per table and close at 10:00 p.m. taking effect on 2 December; a further tightening of restrictions saw, among other measures, a 6 pm closing time of restaurants starting from 10 December, and a mandate for authorities to order partial lockdowns in locations with multiple cases of COVID-19 until all residents were tested. From late January 2021, the government pursued repeatedly locked down residential buildings to conduct mass testing. A free mass vaccination program with the Sinovac vaccine and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine was launched on 26 February. The government sought to counter the vaccine hesitancy by material incentives, which led to an acceleration of vaccinations in June.
Hong Kong was one of few countries and territories to pursue a "zero-COVID" elimination strategy, by essentially closing all its borders and, until February 2022, subjecting even mild and asymptomatic cases to hospitalisation, and sometimes isolation extending over several weeks. The fifth, Omicron variant driven wave of the pandemic emerging in late December 2021 caused the health system to be stretched to its limits, the mandatory hospitalization to be abandoned, and led several experts to question the zero-COVID strategy. Some even considered it counterproductive, due to it having nourished hopes that the city would eventually become free of the virus, and thus having led to a low COVID-19 vaccination rate in the city. Most of the deaths in the fifth wave were among the unvaccinated elderly. The strategy also harmed the economy. Local economists estimated the loss caused by the pandemic reached HK$320 billion (US$41 billion) and HK$246 billion (US$31.7 billion) in 2020 and 2021 respectively, equivalent to 10.6% and 8.0% of the Hong Kong's GDP.
Background
The outbreak of the pandemic evoked memories as the city was at the forefront of the SARS epidemic in 2003, when over 1,700 people contracted the virus and almost 300 people died locally. The COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan took place against the backdrop of widespread and intense political conflict and civil unrest fed by anti-government sentiment, since June 2019. Carrie Lam, the city's Chief Executive, was reported in May 2020 to have a negative approval rating of 80 percent. The District Council elections in November, widely regarded as a proxy referendum over the protest movement's demands, saw the pro-democracy camp achieve their biggest landslide victory in Hong Kong's history, where they took control of 17 out of 18 districts. The economy of the city has been reeling under the effects of the unrest, as the number of mainland visitors fell and business confidence suffered, and the city slipped into recession.
Lam had invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance on 4 October 2019 to impose a law to ban wearing face masks in public gatherings. The law would come to contradict later measures to control the spread of the virus, and has been widely ignored by citizens, who have learnt to be mistrustful of the government.
As the coronavirus crisis escalated in February and March 2020, the scale of the protests dwindled. Protest activities continued regularly in Tseung Kwan O, Yuen Long and Mong Kok every month. Large-scale protests gave way to the COVID-19 pandemic, but smaller scale protests in various districts resumed upon easing of virus restrictions. Through its Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance, the Hong Kong government imposed a four-person limit for public gatherings. Many observers believed that the COVID-19 pandemic had provided cover for an increase of arrests related to the protests.
Timeline
January 2020 Upon learning of the outbreak, the Hong Kong government required disclosure by those who had been to wet markets in Wuhan. It widened the criteria for notification on 3 January – to anyone who had visited Wuhan within 14 days before the onset of any respiratory symptoms of illness would need to inform health authorities.
On 4 January, Hong Kong activated 'serious response level' for infectious diseases as Wuhan pneumonia outbreak escalates. On the same day, the Hospital Authority announced that the public hospitals admitted three people who had been to Wuhan in the past 14 days. Specimens were sent to the Department of Health for testing, which turned out to be negative for the disease from Wuhan.
Although Wuhan health authorities said there was "no obvious evidence" of human-to-human transmission of the then-unidentified virus, medical experts in Hong Kong urged mainland authorities to be more forthcoming with Wuhan patient information that could aid epidemiological study. University of Hong Kong infectious diseases expert Dr Ho Pak-Leung suspected such transmission had happened among cases in Wuhan, and urged "the most stringent" precautionary measures. However, press reported that border checks at the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminal were not yet operational.
On 8 January, Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) added "Severe respiratory disease associated with a novel infectious agent" to their list of notifiable diseases to expand their authority on quarantine. The Hong Kong government also shortened hospital visits and made it a requirement for visitors to wear face masks. Screening was tightened at airports and train stations with connections to Wuhan. In the first week of 2020, 30 unwell travellers from Wuhan were tested. Most had other respiratory viruses.
On 22 January, Hong Kong confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus. A 39-year-old man from mainland China who had travelled from Shenzhen and who arrived in Hong Kong by high-speed rail developed symptoms of pneumonia. Resident in Wuhan, he had arrived in Shenzhen by highspeed rail with his family, from where he had travelled on to West Kowloon station in Hong Kong. He tested positive for the virus and was hospitalised in Princess Margaret Hospital, Kowloon. The same day, a 56-year-old man from Ma On Shan, who had visited Wuhan in the previous week, also tested positive. These two cases were listed as "Highly Suspected Cases", they were confirmed positive the following day.
On 23 January, the Hong Kong government designated the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung as a quarantine centre. The Hong Kong Tourism Board cancelled the Lunar New Year Cup and a four-day Lunar New Year carnival, citing concerns over the virus outbreak.
On 24 January, health authorities confirmed three more cases, all these patients had been to Wuhan. The 4th and 5th cases were a 62-year-old woman and her husband aged 63 who had both arrived in Hong Kong on 22 January. The couple attempted to escape from Prince of Wales Hospital after learning that they would have to be quarantined, but failed when the police were called.
On 25 January, the Hong Kong government declared the viral outbreak as an "emergency" – the highest warning tier. The city's largest amusement parks, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Ocean Park Hong Kong, and wax museum Madame Tussauds Hong Kong closed from 26 January, until further notice. Primary and secondary schools were originally set to resume on 17 February, were stay suspended until 2 March. They eventually remained closed until after Easter.
On 26 January morning, "Fai Ming Estate", an unoccupied public estate in Fanling, in Hong Kong's New Territories was earmarked as a quarantine facility for people who may have been exposed to Wuhan coronavirus. In the afternoon, hundreds of Hong Kong citizens blocked roads leading to the building with bricks and other debris. The lobby of the newly built residential building was set alight in the night.
On 28 January, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam announced enhanced measures to stop the novel coronavirus' spread, but short of closing all boundary control points.
From 30 January onwards,
1) high-speed rail service between Hong Kong and mainland China was suspended. 2) All cross-border ferry services, flights and cross-border bus services from mainland China were reduced by 50%. 3) The services of the West Kowloon Station, Hung Hom station, China Ferry Terminal and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal control points were suspended. 4) Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok border checkpoints were closed.
With the central government's agreement to suspend issuing individual visitors permits for mainland residents to Hong Kong, the usual mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong was reduced up to 50%.
The Government also stopped Hubei residents and people who visited the province in the past 14 days, except Hong Kong residents, from entering the city.
Many Hospital Authority staff were dissatisfied with the government for failing to seal off entry points between Hong Kong and mainland China, and planned to go on strike on 3 February.
On the home front, all government employees (except those providing essential/emergency services) were instructed to work from home. All facilities overseen by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), including all public museums, libraries and sports centres and venues, were closed until further notice as a precaution, on 29 January. The closure of these facilities was extended until 2 March 2020 on 14 February.
The government also appealed to employers to make flexible work arrangements for employees in accordance with their operational needs.