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http://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/world/asia/hong-kong-covid-social-distancing.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DPDm4SiPsSGYyMvE7WZKMkZ9w10HGYQ9lOdbQoWv1-i_
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Hong Kong announces its toughest social-distancing rules yet as cases
reach record highs.

Waiting at a makeshift Covid-19 testing center in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Waiting at a makeshift Covid-19 testing center in Hong Kong on Tuesday.Credit...Lam Yik/Reuters
By Austin Ramzy and Rebecca Robbins
Feb. 8, 2022
Updated 2:35 p.m. ET
Hong Kong will institute its tightest social-distancing rules since the
start of the pandemic to curb its largest coronavirus outbreak so far,
as a wave of Omicron cases has raised questions about how long the city
can continue its strict Covid-control policies.

Hong Kong will require hair salons and places of worship to close for
two weeks starting Thursday, and no more than two households will be
allowed to meet in private, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive,
said on Tuesday. Public gatherings will be limited to two people.

Shopping malls, grocery stores and markets will join the list of public
places where visitors must register with an official contact tracing
app. People visiting those sites, which include restaurants, will have
to prove they have been vaccinated. Fines for not following mandatory
testing orders will be doubled to nearly $1,300.

The city of 7.5 million has largely managed to avoid the worst of the
pandemic, recording 213 Covid deaths over the past two years. But the
spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant since late December
now threatens to overwhelm Hong Kong’s aggressive contact tracing and quarantine efforts. Since last week it has set several daily highs for
new case totals, with more than 600 added on Monday and again on Tuesday.

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The surging number of cases has forced the city to stop hospitalizing
all Covid patients. On Tuesday it began sending some people with few or
no symptoms to the government quarantine center at Penny’s Bay. And some close contacts who were previously required to go to Penny’s Bay will
now be allowed to quarantine at home.

Hong Kong Coronavirus Cases
All time
Last 90 days
Feb. 2020
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
Jul.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb. 2021
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
Jul.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb. 2022
50
100
150 cases
7–day average
Source: Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns
Hopkins University. The daily average is calculated with data that was
reported in the last seven days.
Mrs. Lam has resisted suggestions that the latest wave of cases will
force Hong Kong to abandon its strategy, which she calls “dynamic zero Covid.”

“In our fight against the epidemic we need to stand by a philosophy, otherwise we will see measures being change all the time,” she said on Tuesday. “So at this moment, we will stand by the dynamic zero
containment strategy.”

The risk to older people is of particular concern, Mrs. Lam said,
because less than half the population over age 70 have been vaccinated.
“The risk is increasing because there are more cases in residential
homes and among their workers,” she said.

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Elsewhere in the world:

Pfizer announced on Tuesday that its Covid vaccine brought in nearly $37 billion in revenue last year and that it already has deals booked for
another $32 billion in revenue this year. The figures would represent
the two highest single year sales totals for any medical product in
history. The company expects to produce 4 billion doses of the vaccine
and to deliver at least one billion to low- and middle-income countries
this year.

The company also said it had already booked $22 billion in revenue this
year for its Covid pills, known as Paxlovid. That is on track for the
biggest single-year sales total for a drug in history. It is likely to
increase as the company strikes more deals to sell the pills to
governments. The company expects to produce 120 million treatment
courses of Paxlovid this year.

Austin Ramzy is a Hong Kong reporter, focusing on coverage of the city
and also of regional and breaking news. He previously covered major
events around Asia from Taipei and Beijing. @austinramzy

Rebecca Robbins joined The Times in 2020 as a business reporter focused
on covering Covid-19 vaccines. She has been reporting on health and
medicine since 2015. @RebeccaDRobbins

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