Coronavirus: Hong Kong urged to add France, Spain, Britain and Russia to Covid-19 high-risk list

Public health expert says Britain, France and Spain are facing a second virus wave and warns crisis will become more severe in Europe as weather cools

Existing local curbs, such as limiting to four the number of people allowed to eat out together or gather in public, to last until at least October 1

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Pedestrians in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 11:59am, 22 Sep 2020Updated: 4:33pm, 24 Sep 2020

Hong Kong is under pressure to add Covid-19-stricken European nations to its list of high-risk countries under which travellers must prove they are not infected with the coronavirus before boarding flights, as the city’s leader revealed on Tuesday that a review was under way.

France, Spain, Britain and Russia are among the countries that should be added to the list, according to a leading public health expert advising the government on its anti-pandemic strategy.

Five more imported Covid-19 cases were recorded on Tuesday – out of a total of eight confirmed infections. The government also extended social-distancing measures for another week, meaning the public would not be out celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on October 1, in large numbers.

The city has maintained its trend of declining Covid-19 infections in recent weeks, down from more than 100 a day for a spell in July, but the number of imported cases remains alarming.

Children celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay in 2018. Photo: Sam Tsang

Of the 236 cases confirmed in September to date, 99, or 41 per cent, were imported. But the situation worsened over the past week, with 63 per cent of cases involving returnees from overseas.