Hong Kong authorities declared on Sunday that they are in “combat mode” in the face of the advance of the covid and China sent reinforcements to build two quarantine centers for those infected.

The city – which is one of the most densely populated cities in the world – is facing the worst wave of covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, with thousands of new cases daily.

As in mainland China, the Hong Kong authorities defend a “zero covid” strategy, which has kept this important global financial center safe, but has also isolated it from the rest of the world.

The rapid spread of the omicron variant, much more contagious than the previous ones, caught the authorities off guard with a low vaccination rate among the older population and few plans to deal with a massive outbreak.

This week the leader of the local executive Carrie Lam admitted that the fifth wave “inflicted a severe blow” in this territory and on Saturday announced that the construction company China State Construction International Holdings is going to install two temporary isolation enclosures.

These centers are intended to quarantine around 10,000 people.

Lam also announced that the hotels will be converted into isolation centers with a capacity to accommodate around 20,000 people.

Deputy Chief Executive John Lee wrote on his official blog on Sunday that the government is in “combat mode.”

“With the support of our mother country, we are going to win the battle,” he said.

Hong Kong has registered more than 22,000 infections in less than two months, compared to 12,000 infections in the first years of the pandemic, in a population of 7.5 million people.

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