Hong Kong battling third wave of coronavirus infections as city confirms 14 new cases
- Nine of Tuesday’s cases are local as minister says tougher social-distancing curbs may be necessary amid ‘very alarming’ situation
- Care home cluster fears as resident confirmed infected, three others test positive and four members of staff there also return positive results
Key points:
- Foreign domestic workers will be required to undergo pre-boarding coronavirus screening before flying to Hong Kong. Their employers must arrange 14-day mandatory quarantine on arrival at designated hotels in the city
- The Hong Kong government will organise the return of its residents from countries deemed as carrying a high risk of infection, such as Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and South Africa. Discussions with consulates are under way
- All air and shipping crew members arriving at Hong Kong International Airport must give deep-throat saliva samples for coronavirus testing under tighter screening for people exempted from quarantine measures
- Social-distancing measures at restaurants and entertainment venues could be tightened, including religious activities and pursuits at indoor venues. The ban on people gathering in groups of more than 50 remains in place
- Visits to elderly care facilities and rehabilitation centres will be suspended
- The Hospital Authority will suspend visitations at non-acute hospitals from Thursday
Hong Kong has begun battling against a third wave of coronavirus infections, as nine of 14 new cases on Tuesday were classified as local and the government escalated its Covid-19 containment strategy to launch a review of social-distancing measures and impose new requirements for domestic helpers.
Declaring the situation “very alarming”, health minister Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee unveiled a series of fresh measures to counter the worsening Covid-19 situation in the city, including controlling the flow of people returning from higher-risk countries, and requiring maids to quarantine in hotels on arrival.
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Hong Kong battling third wave of coronavirus infections as city confirms 14 new cases
“Now within a short period of time, we have seen multiple local cases with unknown sources of infection. This is an important warning signal to us,” Chan said. “It reminds all people in Hong Kong that we should not drop our guard.”
A senior health official warned in a separate press briefing on Tuesday that the city had entered its third wave of coronavirus infections.
“We are worried that there will be a massive community outbreak, with so many sources of infection,” said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection.