The city’s strict but successful “zero-Covid” policy had largely kept the virus out for months.

But when the highly transmissible Omicron variant broke through Hong Kong’s defences, authorities were caught flat-footed with a dangerously under-vaccinated population and few plans in place to deal with a mass outbreak.

The extremely contagious Omicron variant was first discovered within Hong Kong’s local community in late December — far later than much of the rest of the world.

Authorities reacted quickly — banning flights, forbidding gatherings of more than two, and launching a mass hamster cull after coronavirus-positive pet store rodents were discovered.

But these measures did little to curb Omicron’s spread.

As of Friday, Hong Kong had recorded more than 20,200 infections in less than two months — outstripping its cumulative two-year total of about 12,000.

City leader Carrie Lam admitted this week the fifth wave had “dealt a heavy blow”, and by Friday announced a postponement to the planned March selection of Hong Kong’s next chief executive.

Britain plans to set out plans next week to remove self-isolation requirements for people infected with Covid, a move that health experts think could be risky. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement that “Covid will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.”

In England, currently, people are advised to isolate if they have Covid-19 symptoms or test positive. They are legally required to self-isolate for at least five days if instructed to by public health officials

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While there were no new deaths confirmed outside Hubei, the national tally of verified infections rose by 769, about half of them in Hubei, the National Health Commission said. It said 461 of those infected were in a serious condition.

China has sealed off Hubei in the country’s centre, an unprecedented operation affecting tens of millions of people which is intended to slow the transmission of the respiratory virus.

The end of the Lunar New Year holiday, China’s busiest travel season, was pushed back to Sunday from Friday to “effectively reduce mass gatherings” and “block the spread of the epidemic,” a Cabinet statement said. Schools will also postpone reopening until further notice, it added.

Cases have been confirmed in the semi-autonomous territories of Macau and Hong Kong, where the government is turning holiday camps into quarantine centres. South Korea confirmed its fourth case on Monday.

Scattered cases have also been confirmed in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, Singapore Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada and Australia. The US has confirmed cases in Washington state, Chicago, southern California and Arizona.

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