Omicron spreads rapidly through Hong Kong care homes as city tops global Covid death rate

Hong Kong’s care homes for the elderly have been hit hard by the fifth wave of Covid-19. Most of the patients who have died from Covid-19 related illnesses are unvaccinated elderly patients, many of whom lived in care homes where the highly contagious Omicron variant has rapidly spread. As of March 7, 2022, nearly 85 per cent of elderly care homes in the city had reported cases of Covid-19 among its residents or staff.