Hong Kong third wave: learn from Covid-19 social-distancing mistakes and overhaul quarantine exemption policy, health experts tell officials

Four leading public health figures comment on government’s coronavirus strategy, urging officials to prepare more isolation and quarantine facilities

Testing, quarantine exemptions and total lift of eight-person maximum at restaurant tables were key failures, says Chinese University’s Dr David Hui

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There are lessons to be learned over how Hong Kong drastically reduced its social-distancing measures last time around, health experts say. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 8:00am, 14 Jul 2020Updated: 4:20pm, 11 Sep 2020

Hong Kong officials must learn from the mistakes made when they previously relaxed social-distancing measures and should overhaul their policy on quarantine exemptions as part of the new fight against the worsening Covid-19 crisis, top health experts have warned.

The experts also called for the government to prepare more isolation facilities in the community, as well as outside hospitals in settings such as hotels and the AsiaWorld-Expo, with the city expected to face an extended battle with the coronavirus until a vaccine was available.

The pleas were made from four leading public health figures – David Hui Shu-cheong from Chinese University, along with Malik Peiris, Siddharth Sridhar and Yuen Kwok-yung, all from the University of Hong Kong – after the city posted on Monday a record 41 local infections, taking the city’s confirmed coronavirus tally to 1,521 cases, with eight fatalities.

Signs of a third wave in Hong Kong first appeared last week, with 253 confirmed cases, including 182 local infections recorded in the past eight days.

The source of infection in 54 cases, or 30 per cent of the recent local caseload, could not be traced, according to the city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Clusters first emerged in Kowloon East and Sha Tin, expanding to a handful of local restaurants, secondary schools and elderly care homes, as well as public and private housing estates across Hong Kong.

The government on Monday announced the introduction of stringent measures from Wednesday, banning for the first time dine-in services at restaurants from 6pm to 5am the next day, while passengers on public transport must wear masks.