It was the risk of being separated from her three children if they contracted the coronavirus that hastened her departure. In recent weeks, cases have indeed been reported of young children being taken away from their parents after testing positive and placed in solitary confinement, as required by Hong Kong’s rules for all those infected.
Zero covid policy
Since the start of the pandemic, the city of 7.4 million, like mainland China, has implemented a strict zero-covid policy that has seen just 12,000 cases reported in two years. But since the introduction of Omicron in January, the number of infections has skyrocketed, with tens of thousands of cases now being reported daily.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed over the past few weeks and pictures of Covid patients lying on stretchers outdoors in front of emergency services have shocked Hong Kongers. Morgues are overflowing, and thousands of asymptomatic patients are separated from their loved ones and herded into isolation rooms.
The pandemic-related restrictions are being hard-pressed by Hong Kong’s foreign workers, who make up about 8% of the population.
70,000 shipments
In February, more than 71 thousand people left the city, including 63 thousand residents, which is a record since the beginning of the pandemic, including more than 40 thousand in the last two weeks.
Before Omicron, sums up Lucy Porter Jordan, a sociologist at the University of Hong Kong, “you had limitations, but also security. If you take that out of the equation, you end up with a kind of perfect storm that will probably leave an indelible mark.” She adds that the majority of those leaving are people with children and “people who can afford it.”
Companies warn of a talent drain. The European Union estimates that 10% of its citizens in Hong Kong have left since the start of the pandemic.
“It has become very difficult to raise money, to invest in this place for the long term,” admits an investor who traveled to Canada on Wednesday. He says his biggest “mental health concerns” are his two daughters, aged 12 and 13.
Recently, several airlines have seen an increase in bookings from Hong Kong. “On average, we are seeing double-digit growth in our bookings in the one week to July,” an Emirates spokesman said.