Hong Kong records eight new cases of Covid-19, as government adviser calls for Spain, Italy to be added to high-risk list
- Outbreak situation in Europe has worsened in recent weeks, with some countries reporting five-digit daily infection tallies
- Tourism stakeholders, meanwhile, say they expect thousands of lay-offs within a month if more help is not forthcoming
Hong Kong is growing increasingly concerned about protecting itself in the face of a rapidly worsening pandemic situation in Europe, with alarming daily infections not only in Italy and Spain but Russia and France as well.
“The government should periodically update the list of high-risk countries,” Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, an adviser to the government on the pandemic response, told the Post. “Even for places with only one to two flights coming to Hong Kong weekly, if there is an outbreak there, we need to be careful.”
Hong Kong has already placed 13 countries on its high-risk list, including India, Britain and the United States. Travellers from the nations are required to present a negative Covid-19 test result before boarding a flight to the city and must be quarantined in a hotel at their own expense, instead of at a government facility.
France and Russia were the latest additions to the list, with their inclusion coming into effect on Monday.
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Spain, which saw more than 20,000 infections one day last week, declared a national state of emergency on Sunday set to last until early May and imposed a curfew. Italy announced a new round of restrictions across the country the same day, shutting down gyms, pools and cinemas, while mandating early closing times for cafes and restaurants. New Covid-19 cases in the country have been growing for the past two weeks, with nearly 40,000 logged over the weekend.