Hong Kong ‘hopes for the best, prepares for the worst’ as city draws up Omicron outbreak plans, including reopening AsiaWorld-Expo facility

Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo convention centre will be pressed back into service as a Covid-19 treatment facility if a fifth wave of the virus hits the city, according to health authorities who are drawing up contingency plans for potential worst-case scenarios.

With the more transmissive Omicron variant now spreading rapidly around the world, senior health officials on Monday warned the risk of the mutated strain making its way into the community was high.