Hongkongers urged to stay at home to ensure Covid-19 testing works, as city records 26 new cases, including two more linked to port cluster
- Top health official calls on residents to avoid too many personal interactions while awaiting screening results
- Citywide testing, set to begin on September 1, will offer clearer picture of transmissions in the community, she says
A top health official in Hong Kong has urged residents to stay at home to ensure citywide testing for Covid-19 works, as two more employees at the coronavirus-hit main port were among 26 new cases confirmed on Saturday.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said residents who had submitted tests and were asymptomatic should try to “stay at home as much as possible”.
Close contacts of those who tested positive would be quarantined, and people should avoid too many personal encounters, Chuang said.
Her call came as Saturday’s figures extended the city’s downward trend of fewer than 100 daily cases to the 20th day, while two more Covid-19 patients died. The total number of infections in the city rose to 4,657, with 77 related deaths.
All but two of the new infections were locally transmitted, while seven cases had not yet been traced. More than 20 people tested preliminary positive.