Coronavirus: what kind of lockdown can Hong Kong handle ... or is it even ready at all?

As Hongkongers worry about just the kind of lockdown they have to accept in the coming weeks, sources said officials were still weighing options while experts warned the city was ill-equipped to conduct a mainland China-style shutdown and mass testing.

Even with additional reinforcements, the lack of facilities due to the sheer number of cases that would be unearthed would create more problems along with heightened infection risks during a lockdown in cramped homes.

The issue of deciding which segments in society could still be allowed to go out for work also had to be carefully managed, the experts said. The city had to strike a fine balance between ensuring essential services could still operate while effectively limiting the movements of most residents.

It would be no easy feat defining such workers, they said, as there are an estimated 800,000 employees in sectors covering catering, transport and property management.

Government sources on Tuesday raised the possibility of a “large-scale lockdown” on top of a compulsory mass testing drive that could last for as short as nine days in mid-March at the earliest.

But scant details, as Covid-19 numbers exploded beyond 30,000 for a second straight day, sparked panic buying across the city as residents wiped out supermarket shelves amid fears of food supply shortages. Tuesday’s infection tally was 32,597, with 172 related deaths.

A lockdown would mark a policy U-turn after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ruled out any such move two weeks ago. On Monday, health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee said it was still an option, while experts from the Beijing-based National Health Commission also gave similar advice.