Government officials today in Hong Kong, in the middle of a worsening Omicron surge, said they would roll out mass testing in the middle of March, targeting 7.4 million residents.
In US developments, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering if a fourth mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose will be necessary.
Hong Kong hospitals overwhelmed
One of the few locations that has a taken a "zero COVID" approach during the pandemic, the more transmissible Omicron variant has triggered exponential spread of the virus and is overwhelming Hong Kong health systems.
At a briefing today, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said compulsory testing will start in the middle of March, with residents testing three times, with the system testing 1 million people a day, according to Reuters. She added that school campuses could be used for testing and isolation.
Other measures to slow the spread of the virus would include letting schools out early for summer break.
Mainland officials recently told Hong Kong that its top priority was bringing the outbreak under control and have offered assistance. At a briefing today, Lam said the mainland has not ordered a lockdown.
Hong Kong today reported 6,211 cases, and Hong Kong experts project that new infections could reach 180,000 cases a day in the next month.
FDA considers another round of booster shots
As new cases of COVID-19 continue to fall in the United States, meanwhile, the FDA is considering whether Americans will need a fourth dose of mRNA vaccine—a second booster shot—in the fall.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the FDA is still in the early stages of considering a fourth dose for the general public. Some countries, including Israel and Sweden, have already recommended a fourth dose for some citizens.
The United States reported 49,965 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 655 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. The 7-day average of new daily cases is 89,024, with 2,096 daily deaths, according to the New York Times tracker.
As Omicron activity continues to decrease across the country, infectious disease experts are keeping an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, NPR reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that BA.2 currently accounts for 3.9% of all new US COVID-19 cases.
The variant is about 30% more transmissible than the original Omicron, early data show.
