Hong Kong third wave: Covid-19 total exceeds 3,000 with 118 new infections, one related death as new hotline service launched
- City’s run of triple-digit cases stretches into eighth day with total deaths at 24 as restaurant ban takes effect
- 76-year-old was among a cluster of seven patients infected with the virus in a medical ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Hong Kong has registered a triple-digit rise of Covid-19 cases for the eighth day running to push its total above 3,000, as the government revealed new strategies to help save hospitals from coronavirus overload and the city’s toughest social-distancing measures to date took effect.
More health and care settings were caught up in the escalating crisis on Wednesday when Hong Kong confirmed another 118 mostly local infections, while tempers frayed over the new restaurant ban that forced many to eat their lunch on the streets.
Faced with bed shortages and spiralling waiting times, public hospitals laid out plans to launch a telephone hotline and a new triage system to improve the handling of Covid-19 patients, as officials aimed to provide hundreds of extra isolation beds at AsiaWorld-Expo at the weekend.
The new social-distancing restrictions that kicked in on Wednesday include banning both public gatherings of more than two people and dining in at restaurants, while wearing a mask is now mandatory in all public places.
Threatened with a backlash from some workers who resorted to eating in the heat in outdoor areas such as bus stations, the government announced on Wednesday that the Home Affairs Department would open 19 community centres across Hong Kong between 11am and 3pm from Thursday, where people can sit down for lunch.
“In any situation, try to stay apart, and refrain from talking to each other so you can finish your meals sooner and put your mask back on,” said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch.
Among the fresh Covid-19 cases confirmed at a press briefing on Wednesday, 113 were locally transmitted, including 46 of unknown origin. About 80 other people have tested preliminary positive. The city’s confirmed tally of cases now stands at 3,002, with 24 related deaths.