In just a matter of weeks, the city of more than 7 million has transformed from one of the safest places during the pandemic to having what’s believed to be the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the world. On Feb. 18, Hong Kong had a total of 259 COVID deaths since the pandemic began. A month later, the number had soared to nearly 4,600 — on par with the reported total in China, a country of 1.4 billion.

Morgues and hospitals have run out of room to store bodies. The city is awaiting a fresh batch of coffins arriving by sea.