In Pics: Omicron overwhelms Hong Kong, city reels from COVID crisis

Omicron, the fast-spreading COVID variant, is overwhelming Hong Kong. The city is witnessing mass testing, panic buying at the supermarket, and quarantines. The morgues are also overflowing, forcing the authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers.
The global death toll from coronavirus has hit a worrying 6 million, and Hong Kong records 150 deaths per day, making it the world’s highest death rate per million people, as per Our World in Data website.
One of the key factors for the spread of the disease is low vaccination rates, especially among the elderly. While Hong Kong mirrors China’s “zero tolerance” policy towards COVID, it is not as rigid.