COVID-19: Hong Kong expected to tighten social distancing measures
Jul 13, 2020
Hong Kong, July 13 : The government of Hong Kong is contemplating to tighten social distancing measures to contain the third wave of coronavirus outbreak after new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Monday.
According to the report, signs of the third wave in Hong Kong first appeared last week, with growing clusters in both Kowloon East and Sha Tin.
The report said 30 per cent of new cases in city were proving to be untraceable. On Sunday, out of 38 confirmed cases, 30 were locally transmitted and in 13 of those cases, source of infection was unknown.
Some people believe it is time to return to several restrictions that were placed in March.
"The current policies are inadequate, I think it's a consensus among the public," University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung was quoted as saying. "We should not just look at the cases over the past week, but have to be forward-looking. We should look at how the epidemic could further develop if we do not tighten the rules in all directions."
Health officials have said the new outbreak has put increasing pressure on the public health care system and the quarantine capacity, with a major facility in Fo Tan to be returned to public housing tenants next month, reported the Post.
The total number of infections in the city stands at 1,469, with seven related deaths.
Worldwide, the number of coronavirus cases have surged past 12.8 million while the death toll has risen to 568,511.
