Hong Kong records 27 new coronavirus cases, as residents and staff of two care homes face quarantine

Friday marks the 19th day that the daily tally has remained under 100, as the general trend of declining infections continues

Officials to announce details of citywide testing, to begin next month

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People queue up to collect test kits at the West Kowloon Health Centre in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 5:32pm, 21 Aug 2020Updated: 8:34pm, 21 Aug 2020

Hong Kong recorded 27 new coronavirus infections on Friday, as 130 residents and staff at two homes for the elderly faced being quarantined after a confirmed case was found at one and a resident at the other tested positive.

Friday marked the 19th day the daily tally remained under 100 cases, as the general trend of declining infections continued.

Of the new infections, 18 were locally transmitted including seven of unknown origin. Nine cases were imported – six from India, one from the United States, one from Canada and an aircrew worker from Russia.

The Hong Kong government added Ethiopia to the list of high-risk countries, which requires air travellers flying from the African nation to produce certificates showing a negative Covid-19 test result. Five imported infections in August were from Ethiopia.

New confirmed cases were found in two homes for the elderly that were not part of previous clusters, and the source of infections was unknown.