HONG KONG — Week by week, as infections swept through the city, residents of Hong Kong saw the government’s coronavirus policy change.
First, officials said they had no plans for social distancing in January, after which they promptly closed bars and gyms and banned flights from eight countries. In February, officials pledged to test every resident and appeared to be abandoning those plans this month. And on Thursday, public beaches were closed, just three days after Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, suggested easing the Covid-19 restrictions.
As Hong Kong has passed more than a million coronavirus cases this week since the start of the pandemic — a staggering number for a city with single-digit daily cases for most of the health crisis — residents say the government’s wiping virus policy is confusing and caused chaos. Failing to adhere to the mainland’s zero-covid strategy, officials in Hong Kong have provided inconsistent and conflicting details about how the city will deal with the current outbreak.
Now some fear that the government’s failure to contain the virus has accelerated Beijing’s creeping authority over semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Since the outbreak began, China has flooded Hong Kong with what it sees as necessary reinforcements, including donations of traditional Chinese medicines and protective medical equipment. Chinese epidemiologists have been sent to advise health officials, and more than a thousand technicians and health workers have been sent for testing and patient care.
A temporary bridge has been built to connect Hong Kong to the Chinese city of Shenzhen to help move supplies and manpower more quickly. Dozens of construction workers have been deployed to build temporary government quarantine facilities and makeshift hospitals.
Many of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing politicians have been quick to thank “the motherland” for its help. John Lee, the chief secretary of the Hong Kong administration, equated the outbreak with the 2019 pro-democracy protests that led to sweeping crackdowns on Beijing and helped usher in the national security law.
“Whenever Hong Kong found it difficult to overcome on its own strength the very great difficulties beyond our capabilities, the country would provide us with the strongest and most reliable support,” wrote Mr. Lee in the China Daily, an English-language newspaper. owned by the communist party.
Others see the move as the latest sign that the city will be irreversibly brought under Beijing’s yoke, despite promises that it would retain some measure of independence.
“The people of Hong Kong are very unhappy with Carrie Lam and the government because their incompetence has given the central government an excuse to step in and gain more control,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist at the Hong Kong Baptist. university.
Some of the indecision on the part of Ms. Lam and other officials at times seemed to be in response to mounting pressure from the mainland. As cases surged in mid-February and hospitals became overloaded with treating patients on sidewalk stretchers, Xi Jinping, China’s supreme leader, warned Hong Kong officials to make “controlling the epidemic an overwhelming priority as soon as possible.” to make”.
A few days later, Ms Lam announced a plan to test every resident from March. The city waited for more details that never came. Instead, Hong Kong’s health secretary said the government could not rule out the possibility of mass testing accompanied by a lockdown, contradicting previous statements by Ms Lam.
With few details to cling to and fearing the kind of lockdowns that have left mainland people stranded at home with little food, many Hong Kong residents rushed to buy essentials in supermarkets. When a feeling of unease came through, Ms. Lam stopped giving regular press conferences. Criticism from her fellow pro-Beijing colleagues grew sharper as the virus’ death rate among the elderly, many of whom are unvaccinated in Hong Kong, rose to one of the highest in the world.
“The government’s whole approach seemed chaotic,” said Lau Siu-kai, a Hong Kong scholar who advises Beijing on policy. “The goal to be achieved is not clear and the tactics used seem unstable and changeable.”
“You can see all the complaints around Hong Kong these days,” he added. “It worries Beijing.”
Ms Lam appeared before the media again last week promising to better communicate to the public through daily press conferences. But when asked for more details about mass testing, she said she didn’t have any. A day later, when asked again, an annoyed Ms. Lam scolded a reporter for taking “unnecessary” time.
“People like Carrie Lam and other Hong Kong officials always anticipate Beijing’s wishes,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor of politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Beijing’s imprimatur is now more important than local public opinion to many senior Hong Kong officials.”
Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong and a new “patriots only” city legislature has ensured that all dissenting voices in the once freewheeling city have been silenced. Many people have been unaware of the fluctuations in policy decisions that are now being made behind closed doors.
For example, Hong Kong has maintained a ban on airlines bringing in four or more passengers who test positive for the virus, but the daily number of local cases is already in the tens of thousands, and some of the countries that have been banned have fewer cases. Still, officials continue to stress the need to send those who test positive to government quarantine centers, even if Hong Kong has now registered more than a million cases.
Researchers estimate that half of the population in Hong Kong may already be infected.
“We feel really confused and frustrated and tired of all these so-called new policies,” said Yvonne Kai, a 46-year-old baker in Hong Kong’s busy Wan Chai district. “Different people tell us different policies every day.”
She added: “I feel we cannot trust the government.”
Last week, as officials worried about the capacity of public morgues and a shortage of coffins, the government suddenly announced that hair salons would reopen while bars, gyms, outdoor playgrounds and schools remained closed. Regina Ip, a lawmaker and adviser to Ms Lam, applauded the decision on Twitter.
“I urge the government to also reopen golf courses, tennis courts and other facilities for contactless sports,” Ms Ip wrote.
But when Ms Lam addressed the local press on Monday, she seemed no closer to providing clarity on the city’s virus policy. Instead, she seemed to have a message for the Chinese officials who recently locked up millions of citizens in neighboring Shenzhen after discovering hundreds of coronavirus cases there.
“If you want us to follow what Shenzhen is doing,” said Ms. Lam, “I’m afraid we can’t handle it.”
On Thursday, Ms Lam told media she would also review many of the city’s strict social distancing rules. As she spoke, high barriers were erected on public beaches as part of measures she had promised to avoid a few days earlier.
“I have a very strong feeling that people’s tolerance is on the decline,” she said.