- The Washington Times - Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Hong Kong residents must take three mandatory tests in March as part of efforts by the island city to rein in outbreaks that are testing China’s zero-COVID policy, which employs strict lockdowns on the mainland.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she is pulling forward a summer school holiday to March and April so schools can be used as testing, isolation and vaccination venues.

She also is extending social distancing limits at bars, restaurants, salons and other sites, and continuing a ban on flights from nine countries —  Australia, the U.K., Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and the U.S. — until April 20, according to the South China Morning Post.

Ms. Lam is cracking down as Hong Kong recorded another 6,000 daily cases, meaning infections have increased 64-fold compared to the start of the month.

The city plans to do 1 million tests per day at hundreds of testing sites. Residents will be tested three times within a short period based on their birth years and provided N95 masks and rapid tests for protection and screening in between tests.

Ms. Lam is under pressure from Beijing to corral the virus. She credited the central communist government with providing necessary supplies, according to the Morning Post.

“The fifth wave was so fast and furious, which was far beyond our ability to cope. The central government — serving as Hong Kong’s backbone as always — has agreed to support us right away,” she said.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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