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Coronavirus pandemic
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong fourth wave: experts warn of business shutdowns, mall curfew ‘if residents not cooperative’, as city records 74 new Covid-19 cases

  • Government adviser David Hui notes that people are still packing malls on weekends, and raises concern over Christmas gatherings
  • More cases, meanwhile, emerged from care homes and existing clusters as current rate of infection remains troubling

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Covid-19 infection rates are up but crowds unabated as Hong Kong heads towards the Christmas holiday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Zoe LowandElizabeth Cheung
Hong Kong’s leading health experts have called for a shutdown of non-essential businesses and reduced opening hours at shopping centres, given the large numbers of people still out and about despite daily warnings the city’s fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic could escalate beyond control at the current rate of infection.

Another 74 cases were confirmed on Sunday. All but four were contracted locally and 25 of those were untraceable, underscoring the alarming spread across the city.

“Even though people have been out and about less between Monday and Friday, from Saturday onwards, there has been heavy traffic and big crowds in malls,” Professor David Hui Shu-cheong said in a television interview. “It shows residents are not very cooperative.”

The infectious disease expert, who advises the government on the pandemic, suggested malls, which were packed with shoppers on Sunday, should close six to eight hours earlier. Supermarkets could stay open, he said, but non-essential businesses such as hair salons or clothing stores should be closed.

Hui also urged the public to stay home and avoid parties or large gatherings with Christmas and the new year around the corner. If people remained uncooperative over social-distancing rules and pandemic restrictions, a curfew might be necessary to stop the relentless spread of the coronavirus, he warned.

“It will be hard to monitor private gatherings. If residents can’t follow all these stepped-up measures, then maybe we will have to implement a curfew, like in Melbourne, and only allow people outdoors for an hour for jogging,” he said.

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