Hong Kong third wave: coronavirus cases could peak in two weeks with spread waning in good sign for city, expert says
- Government adviser Professor Gabriel Leung cites latest traffic data from Octopus card holders, showing reduced movement among residents
- He urges students between 12 and 25 however, to stay home as some of them are still out and about during summer holiday
Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said the fall in the “effective reproductive number” for the coronavirus meant the rate of an infected person spreading the pathogen to more than three others had fallen to just under one.
[Residents’ efforts] are to be commended, but [they] must be continued, and we must persevere for at least a few more weeks
He also cited latest traffic data, which revealed that most age groups had reduced their mobility down to March levels when the health crisis last peaked, except students, some of whom might still be out and about during the summer holiday.
“[Residents’ efforts] are to be commended, but [they] must be continued, and we must persevere for at least a few more weeks to suppress the epidemic dynamics,” said Leung, who is also a government adviser. “I am hopeful that the number of daily reported cases can peak in two weeks.
“We need to watch these indicators on a daily basis, and the moment they start to have an uptick or stop falling, then it’s probably time to quickly reassess whether we need more draconian measures,” he added, when asked about whether a lockdown might be necessary to flatten the curve.