Hong Kong tightens coronavirus restrictions as cases hit record

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong tightened coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, nonessential public officials were told to work from home starting this week, as the global financial center reported a record number of daily cases.

Early Sunday, police detained a riot event by pro-democracy politicians to mark the first anniversary of an attack at a train station by an armed mafia for breaking coronavirus measures that already restrict group gatherings to four people. .

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam told a news conference that the city recorded more than 100 cases in the past 24 hours, the most since the pandemic spread in late January, bringing the count to nearly 2,000. patients, 12 of whom have died.

“The situation is very serious and there are no signs that it is under control,” Lam said.

Amusement parks, gyms and 10 other types of venues will be closed for another seven days, while the requirement that restaurants only provide takeout after 6 pm was extended. Masks will be mandatory in indoor public areas.

YUEN LONG YEARBOOK

Police with riot gear stopped an event in the northern Yuen Long district, where pro-democracy politicians planned to mark the anniversary of the attack on protesters and bystanders by more than 100 men with pipes and posts on July 21 of last year, in which 45 people were injured.

Yuen Long’s attack was one of the most violent scenes in last year’s pro-democracy protests, plunging the global financial center into its deepest crisis since it returned from British rule to Chinese in 1997.

At the time, the police were criticized for not responding quickly enough to ask for help, and for not arresting any suspected perpetrator at the scene. They then made several arrests and said the assailants had ties to organized criminal gangs or triads.

A small number of protesters celebrated the anniversary by chanting slogans in a shopping mall.