How serious is Hong Kong’s third wave of Covid-19 infections and what can be done to beat it?

Name: Worldwide reported coronavirus infections top 12 million
Uploaded: 2020-07-13T00:00:11.000Z
Duration: 1 min 48 s
Description: Worldwide reported coronavirus infections top 12 million

Public health experts describe the latest wave as the worst Hong Kong has seen so far and more worrying than the first outbreak

Companies should allow employees to work from home and patrons must be careful when visiting restaurants and entertainment venues, they say

Reading Time:4 minutes

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Hong Kong’s efforts in containing the virus had worked well previously. Photo: Dickson Lee

Emily TsangandNg Kang-chung

Published: 8:00am, 13 Jul 2020Updated: 1:44pm, 13 Jul 2020

Barely two weeks since people began returning to Hong Kong’s gyms and cinemas, and venturing out for dim sum in larger groups as social-distancing regulations were eased after the apparently successful containment of Covid-19, the coronavirus has returned with a vengeance.

Experts describe this third wave of infections as the most severe yet and have called for immediate suppression measures as well as extensive testing to control the outbreak.

The Post looks at how the city can tackle the setback and the effectiveness of options such as allowing employees to work from home and avoiding restaurants and entertainment venues.

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Worldwide reported coronavirus infections top 12 million

How serious is the latest outbreak?

Signs of Hong Kong’s third wave of infections first appeared last week. Between July 5 and 11, there were 173 confirmed Covid-19 cases, of which 107 were local, according to Centre for Health Protection data.

They included residents living in the To Kwa Wan, Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long and Tsz Wan Shan areas. A week earlier, there had been just 61 cases and all were imported or close contacts of those infected. On Sunday, another 38 confirmed cases were reported.

Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical school, called the latest wave the worst Hong Kong had seen so far and was even more worrying than the first one, which took place before border measures and quarantine practices were firmly in place.