Hong Kong Sees 66 New Local Virus Cases in Surging Wave
Of the additional local cases, almost half -- 27 -- were of unknown origins, said the city’s health department on Monday.
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong reported 66 new local virus cases, alarming health officials who are contemplating a possible lockdown as the city is running out of isolation beds and testing capacity.
Of the additional local cases, almost half -- 27 -- were of unknown origins, said the city’s health department on Monday. The new outbreak has now infected 560 local people in 16 days, with about a third of infections unlinked to confirmed cases or existing outbreaks, signaling that hidden chains of transmission are widespread.
“If the trend of cases continues to grow, of course there will be further stringent measures, including lockdown,” Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the health department’s communicable disease branch, said in a briefing Monday.
The virus outbreak in the Asian financial hub has exceeded the magnitude of its previous waves, in a sobering sign the worst may be yet to come in the pandemic. The resurgence in Hong Kong has been aggressive after a period that saw residents return to normal life.
The latest outbreak came on the heels of Hong Kong extending its strictest suite of social distancing measures by another week as the government tries to keep the outbreak from spiraling out of control. Up until early this month, the former British colony was widely seen globally as a model of success in containing the virus, with only 15 cases of local transmission from May through June.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a press conference on Sunday that the government is planning to require that masks be worn in indoor areas beyond public transport. Civil servants in the former British colony began working from home starting Monday, and the government will only offer necessary and emergency services, Lam said.
Hong Kong schools are also seeing delayed reopenings. International schools and kindergartens should not begin the new year earlier than August 17 as there is “no sign of improvement” in the coronavirus outbreak, the city’s Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung said at a separate briefing Monday.
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