Coronavirus | HK sees 5 new cases, curbs on weddings, local tours eased

Hong Kong reported five new coronavirus cases on Tuesday (Oct. 20) as the government eased restrictions on local tour groups and wedding celebrations.

In a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the new infections included four imported cases and one local infection of unknown origin. The city’s total number of confirmed cases stood at 5,261.

Chuang said the local patient is a 32-year-old woman who lived in Sai Wan Ho and worked at One Island East in Quarry Bay.

She had herself tested for the virus at the government’s temporary testing center in Yau Ma Tei and the result was positive.

Six of the woman’s family members and three of her colleagues were classified as close contacts and would be brought to quarantine centers, Chuang said.

She added that the four imported cases were from India, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

In a separate media briefing, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said local tour groups of up to 30 people and wedding ceremonies with as many as 50 attendees will be allowed starting Friday.

The maximum number of people for the two activities were previously capped at four and 20 respectively.

The city’s other social distancing measures, including a ban on more than four people gathering in public places and a mandatory mask-wearing order, will be extended until Oct 29, said Chan.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor earlier said that the government was unlikely to drastically lift social distancing rules for the time being to avoid a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic.

Meeting the press before an Executive Council meeting Tuesday morning, Lam said the government will remain prudent in its anti-epidemic efforts despite a drop in locally transmitted infections in the city in the past week.

Lam said that Hong Kong is still in talks with mainland authorities on the quarantine exemption of eligible cross-boundary travelers. The government will strive to launch the air travel bubble with Singapore as soon as possible, she added.

(Source: China Daily)