The Hong Kong government has ordered mandatory COVID-19 testing for all citizens in March as the Omicron variant continues to drive one of its worst outbreaks of the pandemic.
Even with the help of mainland expertise, Hong Kong cannot replicate the conditions necessary for lockdowns and mass testing to succeed here. Instead, the local government should work alongside Beijing to devise strategies for managing an endemic virus.
The administration has co-opted the term but applies it differently, and even Carrie Lam struggles to explain what it means. The mainland comes down harshly only when and where cases are detected; otherwise, life is unaffected – unlike in Hong Kong