Hong Kong third wave: health experts question ‘late’ move to plug Covid-19 loopholes for seafarers and aircrew as city records another 128 infections
- Health experts query why the changes affecting seafarers, aircrew will only come into effect from Wednesday rather than immediately
- Latest daily tally of 128 cases is the second highest Hong Kong has recorded since the virus hit the city and the fifth straight day of triple-digit rises
But health experts questioned why the changes would only come into effect from Wednesday rather than immediately, saying such workers were likely to be the reason for the recent surge in infections and that the measures were too little, too late.
They also said new Covid-19 clusters at homes for the elderly, wet markets and a local slaughterhouse were a cause for concern.
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Of the 128 new infections, 103 were locally transmitted, including 35 for which the authorities had yet to find a source. Twenty-five cases were imported, among them eight seamen from Britain, the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere.
The health authorities also said about 100 people tested preliminary positive for Covid-19, including three workers linked to the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse, one of the city’s three licensed abattoirs.