Hong Kong mortuaries hit capacity as COVID deaths climb

Facilities for storing dead bodies at hospitals and publicmortuariesinHongKongare at maximumcapacitydue to a record number ofCOVID-19 fatalities, the Hospital Authority said on Monday, as officials battle to control a surge in cases.

The global financial hub reported a daily record high of 34,466 new coronavirus infections and 87deathson Monday, health authorities said.

Separately, the city's Education Secretary said international schools could maintain their original term dates, after widespread confusion over summer school holidays.

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Kevin Yeung said international schools could continue with online classes through March and April, while local schools will take an early break for the summer from March until mid-April.

School campuses are expected to be used by the government in March as authorities roll out compulsory testing of the city's 7.4 million population.

The government has not ruled out a city-wide lockdown during the mass testing period, local broadcaster RTHK reported, citing Health Secretary Sophia Chan. Leader Carrie Lam has previously said she was not considering a city-wide lockdown for the moment.

Empty grocery shelves were seen across several supermarkets in the Chinese-ruled financial hub as residents scooped up essentials in case of a potential lockdown.

The Hospital Authority said the number of patients dying fromCOVID-19 or serious complications triggered by the cold weather sharply increased over the past two weeks, putting immense pressure on the mortuary service in public hospitals.

"The storage space in hospitalmortuarieshas reached fullcapacity," the authority told Reuters in an email.

Dozens of bodies are waiting in hospital accident and emergency rooms to be transported tomortuaries, said Tony Ling, head of the city's Public Doctors Association.

"These bodies now need extra time to wait for collection because resources are just so tight," due to manpower and storagecapacityshortages, he said.

The government did not respond to requests for comment.

There have been more than 600 coronavirus-linkeddeathsinHongKongsince the start of the pandemic in 2020, fewer than in other similar major cities.

However, numbers areclimbing daily with around 400deathsrecorded in the past week, with the majority being unvaccinated residents.

HongKonghas a large proportion of unvaccinated elderly despite a recent pick-up in vaccinations. Many have hesitated to be inoculated due to a fear of side effects and complacency due to the city's success in controlling the virus in 2021.

Around 600 elderly care and disability centres have been infected over the past month, authorities said.

Medical experts have said the city of 7.4 million residents could see cumulativedeathsfrom the virus potentially rising to around 3,200 by mid-May.

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Around 4,000 people on average die each month inHongKong, according to 2020 government figures.

HongKonghas stuck firmly to a "dynamic zero" coronavirus policy which seeks to curb all outbreaks, like that in mainland China. To achieve this, the former British colony has unleashed its most draconian measures since the start of the pandemic, adding to rules that were already among the world's toughest.

The city has recorded over 190,000 infections in total, with around 180,000 of them since the start of February due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

The government has in recent days communicated to the public at press conferences that thedeathsare mostly among unvaccinated people. Previously that information was not readily given.