Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s fourth wave has arrived, health minister says, as more than 60 new confirmed and preliminary cases emerge

Junior classes at primary schools to be suspended for two weeks starting on Monday

Government preparing for mandatory testing of high-risk groups, including taxi drivers, and staff at elderly nursing homes

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Hong Kong is preparing to suspend classes for some primary school pupils. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 11:29am, 20 Nov 2020Updated: 12:47am, 21 Nov 2020

Hong Kong’s health minister warned on Friday that the dreaded fourth wave of Covid-19 had arrived and could spiral out of control without a tough response, as the city reported an alarming surge of more than 60 new confirmed and preliminary cases.

Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the city had “probably entered” the fourth wave of the pandemic, and the government might have to significantly tighten recently eased social-distancing measures, including temporarily shutting down some leisure and sports facilities, if the health crisis worsened.

At the same time, a worrying surge of upper respiratory tract infections – with 439 outbreaks mostly in kindergartens and primary schools affecting more 4,000 people in the past few weeks – prompted the government to announce a two-week suspension of junior classes at primary schools.

But officials were short on details and progress on new pandemic-control measures, and did not give the implementation date for previously announced plans to crack down on hotel staycations and roll out mandatory testing.

The health minister would only reveal that those displaying symptoms of the virus, staff at elderly nursing homes and taxi drivers would be the first targets of compulsory screening.

“According to the experts and also the information from the Centre for Health Protection, we have probably entered into a new wave of cases,” Chan said. “All Hong Kong residents should seriously guard against the virus and reduce unnecessary social gatherings … If we don’t stand our guard, the fourth wave will spiral out of control.”

The 26 latest confirmed local cases are the most the city has recorded in about three months. Twenty-one were locally transmitted, of which nine were untraceable. Health authorities said more than 40 people had also tested preliminary positive.