Families forced to split as Hong Kong COVID cases spiral and rules tighten

By Scott Murdoch and Anne Marie Roantree SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – While Hong Kong clings to its “zero-COVID” policy, frustrations in the city are boiling over, workplace morale is being hit hard and families are splitting as a growing number of people, especially expatriates, abandon the global financial hub. Hong Kong saw a net outflow of more than 71,000 people in February, the most since the beginning of the pandemic, according to government data, compared with 16,879 in December. Senior Western diplomats told Reuters they are inundated with visa requests for the Hong Kong spouses of foreign nationals, while some…