I'm keeping a close eye on the covid schism developing between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Cases hit a record 625 in Hong Kong today and there's a groundswell of local opinion that is pushing for less restrictions and a pathway to living with covid. Right now, long quarantines are required for any kind of travel.
The communist party's mouthpiece -- The People's Daily -- pushed back against that idea today. An editorial warned that would be a disaster.
“The so-called ‘living with the virus’ strategy has not been scientifically proven. Implementing it will bring enormous pressure on the medical system, not to mention resumption of quarantine-free travel with the mainland,” the commentary said.
The People's Daily also defined what China's dynamic zero-Covid' policy means, saying its a strategy with the goal of “early discovery, speedy handling … effective treatment, so the pandemic will not cause continuous community transmission”.
In another interesting comment, Chinese National Health Commission disease control expert Liang Wannian said they can live with covid only after there is "more effective medication."
In any case, it continues to appear as though Beijing is in charge in Hong Kong as new restrictions go into effect limiting gatherings to two people with vaccine passes now extended to shopping centers and supermarkets. Churches and salons were closed until Feb 24.
