No plans for HK lockdown: CE

February 15, 2022

Chief Executive Carrie Lam:

There have been all sorts of discussions and advocacies about a lockdown. In the last two years, the whole world (has been) fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Different governments have adopted different measures. City lockdown has also been adopted by some governments, but they differ in a way that this lockdown is being applied. As far as Hong Kong is concerned, we need to find our own way out of this epidemic. And so far, our measures to contain the spread of the disease remains a legitimate and valid one.

The problem we are facing is (that), given the magnitude, the pace and the severity of this fifth wave (of the epidemic in Hong Kong), it has outgrown our capacity. So the immediate response of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, now with the support of the Central People's Government, is to enhance the capacity in various parts of this anti-epidemic effort. And we are doing this.

So I would have to say it very clearly that we have no plans for any widespread city lockdown as you have seen in some of the other places. But a district-based restriction has been adopted for many, many months now. Since the latest wave from the end of December last year, the Government has already conducted over 100 such operations, which we call RTDs, the restriction-testing declarations.

These operations have proven to be effective, in terms of identifying a large number of infected cases.

(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today made it clear that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has no plans for a citywide lockdown.

Meeting the media ahead of the Executive Council meeting this morning, she said governments in various parts of the world have carried out lockdowns in different ways to curb COVID-19, but Hong Kong is finding its own way out of the epidemic.

“So far, our measures to contain the spread of the disease remains a legitimate and valid one.

“The problem we are facing is that, given the magnitude, the pace and the severity of this fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, it has outgrown our capacity. So the immediate response of the Hong Kong SAR Government, now with the support of the Central People’s Government, is to enhance the capacity in various parts of this anti-epidemic effort. And we are doing this.”

District-based restrictions ie restriction-testing declarations have been successfully adopted for many months, Mrs Lam noted.

“Since the latest wave from the end of December last year, the Government has already conducted over 100 such operations.

“These operations have proven to be effective, in terms of identifying a large number of infected cases.”