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HONG KONG (REUTERS) – Hong Kong reported its first two coronavirus cases in three weeks with no ties to anyone traveling abroad, and authorities rushed to trace the origin of the infections.
The Asian financial center has been one of the most successful cities in the world to contain the pandemic, with most cases imported and immediately quarantined, and the discovery of new cases raises concerns about a renewed local transmission.
The Chinese-ruled city reopened bars, gyms and movie theaters last week and announced tentative plans for some students to return to school by the end of the month, but the ban on groups of more than eight people remains in effect.
The lack of local broadcasts in recent weeks has emboldened pro-democracy protesters to resume protests after a coronavirus-induced hiatus, though its scale is still significantly less than last year when millions took to the streets for months in riots to times violent against China.
The latest government health report, which includes two local cases, a 66-year-old housewife and her five-year-old granddaughter, and an imported one, brings the total in the city to 1,051, four of whom have died. Only a few dozen have yet to fully recover.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
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