‘It could be from anywhere’: is it fair to blame Hong Kong for Shenzhen’s Covid-19 outbreak?
- The southern city’s rumour mill has pointed the finger at neighbouring Hong Kong, but the source of the current outbreak has not been officially determined
- The silent spread of Omicron means it increasingly hard to pinpoint the source of outbreaks, posing a serious challenge to China’s zero-Covid strategy
But with the city reporting new cases for more than a month and some residents being ordered to take Covid-19 tests every day, the sense of frustration is growing.
Guo Qiaoqiao, a businesswoman who has been tested for the past 25 days, says she has had enough.
“This is what Shenzhen is like now, spending so many resources on screening tests to get zero-Covid. I feel it’s not possible,” Guo said. “The outbreak was said to be spread from Hong Kong by those who entered Shenzhen illegally, but even if that is not true, there are so many exchanges between the two cities and there is no way we can block it.”
But the spread of the Omicron variant – especially its BA. 2 strain – means it may no longer be possible to trace the source of various outbreaks.