Editorial | Hong Kong care homes for elderly have to follow the rules
- The cluster of Covid-19 infections at a Kowloon facility housing some of society’s most vulnerable members underlines why safety guidelines must be mandatory
Hong Kong’s relatively low infection rate and even lower number of Covid-19-related deaths have not gone unnoticed in places much more seriously affected.
This had been due partly to a factor that really set the city apart until last week – no coronavirus outbreaks in homes for the elderly. Such facilities have proved tragically vulnerable to contagion elsewhere, including the United States, Britain and Australia.
It was no mean feat for the city, given that elderly people with underlying health problems are generally most at risk from the disease.
This is not the case now after the core cluster of a worrying surge in infections was found in a Kowloon home for the elderly, the operator of which is suspected of sharing staff with another facility in the same building.
As most new cases are of local origin, health officials fear the city is facing a major community outbreak.