Hong Kong is expected to impose its toughest limits on controlling the coronavirus, after authorities warned that the risk of a large-scale outbreak was extremely high.
Under the new measures, which take effect at midnight (16:00 GMT), face masks will be mandatory for people using public transportation, and restaurants will only be able to bring take-out food after 6 p.m.
Anyone who does not wear a mask on public transport is at risk of being fined HK $ 5,000 ($ 645).
Group meetings will again be limited to four people, a move last seen during a second wave in March.
Gyms and indoor entertainment centers will also have to close.
The government said the restrictions were necessary after “drastic changes” in the outbreak in the territory in recent weeks.
“The recent emergence of local cases of unknown source of infection indicates the existence of sustained silent transmission in the community,” it said in a statement describing the new measures. “The latest public health risk assessment shows that the risk of a large-scale outbreak is extremely high.”
Hong Kong Executive Director Carrie Lam, wearing a protective mask, described the new measures at a special press conference on Monday night [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
Living with viruses
Hong Kong reported 52 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, including 41 that were transmitted locally, health authorities said. Among the new cases registered from July 7 to 13, there were 181 cases in people who had no travel history during the incubation period, the statement said.
Hong Kong has confirmed a total of 1,522 cases since the outbreak began in late January.
The government expressed concern about the large number of imported cases and said it planned to impose additional measures on travelers to high-risk locations, including mandatory negative test results prior to arrival.
Executive Director Carrie Lam said the measures were the result of a three-way tug-of-war between public health, economic impact and social acceptability considerations and that people would have to co-exist with the virus for a time frame.
More than 13 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, which first appeared in China late last year.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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