Hong Kong leader says no fixed timeframe for mass testing as Covid deaths soar

Medical staff transfer a non-Covid patient to another hospitals in Hong Kong as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is to be dedicated to treating serious coronavirus patients (Kin Cheung/AP)

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said reducing the rocketing number of deaths in the latest coronavirus surge is the city’s priority, putting a plan to test the entire population on hold in the latest change of policy in the government’s pandemic response.

Ms Lam said there is “no specific timeframe” for citywide testing, two weeks after she announced it would happen this month.