Rivals Singapore and Hong Kong have become pandemic polar opposites, the former opting to live with the coronavirus and reopen to the world while the latter doubles down on zero-Covid and its international isolation. For decades the two cities have jostled to be Asia's premier international business hub, offering low taxes, dependable legal systems and seamless global connections. Both adopted strict suppression tactics when the pandemic emerged, closing borders to keep infections low within their densely populated territories. Now they present competing visions as they manage the highly transmissible Omicron variant -- with Hong Kong floundering under soaring infections while Singapore offers a pandemic exit strategy. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES from Hong Kong and Singapore