Amid surge in COVID cases, people fear possible increase of Chinese authority in Hong Kong

As Hong Kong surpassed one million Covid-19 cases since 2020, some are afraid that the government's failure to get the virus under control has accelerated Beijing's authority over the "semiautonomous Chinese territory," reported media.

Since the outbreak began in Hong Kong, Chinese authorities donated their traditional Chinese medicines, protective medical gear, Chinese epidemiologists were sent to advise health officials, over a thousand technicians and health care workers have been dispatched for testing and patient care, The New York Times reported.

To supply the equipment and manpower smoothly, Chinese authorities established a temporary bridge and also sent dozens of workers to construct the temporary government quarantine facilities and makeshift hospitals.

Most of Hong Kong's pro-Beijing politicians quickly thanked "the motherland" for its assistance.Meanwhile, some people see China's help as their hidden intention of taking control of the city. "The Hong Kong people are very unhappy about Carrie Lam and the government because their incompetence has given the central government an excuse to step in and take more control," political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University, Jean-Pierre Cabestan was quoted as saying by The New York Times.

Hong Kong's government's failure to control the virus led to the surge in the Covid-19 counts.

As of Friday, the city reported 20,082 new COVID-19 infections were reported in the city on Friday, of which 12,116 were identified through rapid tests, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported.

While, 996,862 COVID-19 infections and 5,136 Covid deaths were reported on Thursday, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP).

Chuang Shuk-Kwan, the head of the CHP's Communicable Disease Branch, during the press briefing on Thursday said that over the past week, the number of daily cases had gone "up and down" around 30,000 and authorities needed to observe the statistics for a few more days before a conclusion could be drawn.

( With inputs from ANI )

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