Xi urges Hong Kong to get control as COVID-19 cases surge
By ALICE FUNG and DAVID RISING
Associated Press
HONG KONG (AP) — Hospitals in Hong Kong are struggling to keep up with an influx of coronavirus patients amid record numbers of new infections as the city doggedly adheres to its “zero-COVID” strategy. In comments published Wednesday, China’s leader Xi Jinping weighed in, saying it is the local government’s “overriding task” to control the situation. Hong Kong is currently facing its worst outbreak of the pandemic, topping 2,000 new COVID-19 cases each day this week. Health care facilities are beginning to overflow, forcing the city’s Caritas Medical Center to resort to treating some patients in beds outside the building. Others were waiting in tents, some appalled by the government’s response to the outbreak.