<span style="color: #222222;">As Hong Kong is grappling with a fifth COVID wave, Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked the Hong Kong government to take the "main responsibility" in controlling the Omicron-fueled coronavirus outbreak as well as ensure Hong Kong's social stability. "Authorities must mobilize all forces and resources that can be mobilized, take all necessary measures, and protect Hong Kong people's lives and health, as well as ensure Hong Kong's social stability," Xi was quoted in reports by Chinese Communist Party news outlets Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Po. The directive increases pressure on authorities who are struggling to contain an outbreak that has overwhelmed some hospitals.  <br />''<br />''President Xi ordered Vice Premier Han Zheng to relay his "concern about the pandemic situation" to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.  Health authorities in Hong Kong reported 1,619 confirmed infections on Tuesday and a further 5,400 preliminary positive cases. About 12,000 patients were reportedly waiting to be admitted to hospitals as hospitals are operating at full capacity. A three-year-old girl on Tuesday became Hong Kong's youngest Covid-related fatality, prompting an outpouring of condolences on social media. <br />''<br />''Hong Kong has been pursuing a "Zero COVID" policy, locking down buildings and implementing mandatory testing and stringent quarantines in a bid to reopen its long-closed borders with the mainland, which has also resorted to tough measures to stamp out the virus whenever it appeared. However, experts say that Hong Kong has neither the structure of Chinese mainland cities able to follow a zero-Covid policy, nor the space of Western countries that are living with the virus.</span><br />