Hong Kongers ‘annoyed’ by pointless ‘ambush-style’ lockdowns

Only a dozen positive cases identified after the sudden and temporary confinement of some districts of the city. The Jordan and Yau Mai Tei areas are under observation. The local executive defends the initiative. Fears of the use of restrictions as instruments of political and social control.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The health authorities have identified just one single positive case of Covid-19 among the residents of two streets in the district of Yau Ma Tei, confined to their homes from 7 yesterday evening (local time) to 6 this morning.

Carrie Lam, chief executive, called it an "ambush style" lockdown: in light of the results, for the locals it was more of a "nuisance" and an exaggeration.

To contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has grown in the last month, the local leadership is adopting targeted lockdowns in areas where wastewater analysis signals the presence of the disease.

On January 23 and 24, the Lam administration imposed a lockdown on part of the Jordan neighbourhood (Kowloon peninsula). Of the approximately 7,000 residents tested, only a dozen was infected, 0.17% of the inhabitants of the area.

The confinement measure began at four in the morning. As reported by some local media, the sudden decision by the authorities sparked protests from residents, especially those who run businesses. Tensions also occurred with journalists who investigated the increase in infections in the neighbourhood: the police confined them to a hotel, threatening fines for those who violated the order.

It is the first time that the former British colony has adopted partial lockdowns since the outbreak of the pandemic. To date Hong Kong has had just over 10 thousand cases of infection; 172 deaths. Lam defends the adoption of targeted and temporary restrictive measures to combat the pandemic. The fear of members of the Democratic front is that they are actually being used as an additional instrument of population control.

The use of lockdowns for political purposes is a concern that is beginning to emerge also in some Western countries, where the data on the rates of contagion that have justified lockdowns in the last year are being questioned.

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