HONG KONG, (Reuters) – On Wednesday, Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam revealed a number of measures for elderly people in response to a rising tide of COVID-19 infection. The city is seeing a rapid rise in the deaths of mostly unvaccinated senior citizens.

Lam stated that the government would strengthen medical care and resources, and establish more isolation and temporary facilities for older coronavirus victims.

Although a date was being set for compulsory mass screening, she said that the timing of it had yet to be decided by the government due to its enormous size.

“It’s a complex task that cannot be completed in one day. You can’t do it if the team isn’t prepared and has all the necessary resources.

After a high-ranking Chinese official stated that Hong Kong must prioritise the reduction of severe illness and death, her comments were made.

The global financial hub has seen an increase in infections to record levels, with more than 500 000 cases and over 2,500 deaths. This is the highest level in two weeks.

According to Our World in Data, the city had the highest number of deaths per million in the week ending March 7.

Lam, who addressed the media for first time in more than two weeks, stated that she will be hosting daily media briefings to discuss the progress of the city against coronaviruses and clear up any misunderstandings.

The conflicting messages that the government has sent over the last two weeks regarding its fight against the virus have caused confusion and frustration among residents in China’s controlled territory. These include a plan to mass test the virus and a call for a lockdown.

China and Hong Kong are now using a “dynamic zero strategy” to eliminate infections. This is in contrast to other countries that rely on moderate mitigation such as masks and high vaccination rates to eradicate diseases.

Omicron, a highly transmissible variant of the Omicron virus, has proven to be able to test both methods. However, Hong Kong now faces the negative consequences of having a low vaccine rate among seniors as the virus continues its march through Hong Kong.

While 90.5% have been vaccinated at least once, rates of vaccination for seniors have fallen to around half the rate for people over 80.

The University of Hong Kong has estimated that there could be 4.3 million infected people within the city of 7.4million people, and that the death toll will rise to 5,000.

Hong Kong’s funeral parlours, isolation and hospitals are overcrowded, while the public transport system, shopping malls, mail services, and pharmacies struggle to function due to a serious manpower shortage.

The food prices are on the rise and shelves at supermarkets have been emptying every day for over a week because shoppers have panicked about a possible lockdown.