xi's moments
Home | HK Macao Taiwan

Hong Kong tightens social distancing rules

By GU MENGYAN and LI BINGCUN in Hong Kong | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2020-12-02 07:23

Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong, July 14, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hong Kong readopted on Wednesday its social distancing rules for two weeks to quell a resurgence of COVID-19 cases after the city saw an average of 87 confirmed cases per day last week.

The measures, already known to Hong Kong residents from the city's third round of the pandemic in July, include having the city's nearly 180,000 civil servants work from home, a ban on gatherings of more than two people and the closure of some entertainment venues. The government will at least double the fine for violations of the social distancing rules.

In addition to the tightened social distancing rules, a medical expert has suggested that the government expand its testing ability to cut the transmissions.

Hong Kong recorded 82 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, including 23 that are untraceable and 32 related to the dance studio cluster, which is the city's largest infection cluster and has involved over 550 confirmed cases.

At least 60 people preliminarily tested positive on Tuesday and the city's confirmed case total reached 6,396, with 109 deaths.

Hong Kong was hit by its fourth wave of infections since mid-November, and in the past week alone, more than 100 confirmed cases were untraceable.

Because of the deteriorating situation, the Hong Kong government announced on Tuesday it would defer its much-expected first quarantine-free travel plan with Singapore for the rest of the year at least.

Announcing the revised restrictions on Monday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor quoted four public health advisers as warning that this fourth wave of COVID-19 could continue to escalate.

Quarantine centers

To cope with that, the government intends to at least double the fixed penalty of HK$2,000($258) for violations of anti-COVID regulations, such as the mandatory wearing of masks in public and testing order, and the ban on gathering, Lam said.

In light of the huge number of Hong Kong students expected to return to the city for the Christmas holiday, two hotels were enlisted to serve as quarantine centers, providing about 800 rooms.

However, Lam again brushed off as unfeasible imposing a mandatory universal testing program, quoting the four government's expert advisers as saying it's not an "effective and scientifically based" option.

Local respiratory specialist Leung Chi-chiu said on Tuesday that it's necessary to tighten social distancing rules as it will reduce group gatherings.

He added, however, that purely relying on these measures is not enough. The government still needs to strengthen the testing service to ensure that all residents who are willing to get tested are able to do so.

Local resident Kuk Tin-man said the government has done a good job in striking a balance between people's freedom and the need for social distancing, but a "selfish" minority have ruined the efforts.

She strongly pleaded that residents have more consideration for the safety of their family members. "It's not a big deal to discipline ourselves for a little longer. To satisfy one's own desire and spread the virus into community, that is a rather selfish act," Kuk said.

She is open to the government increasing the penalty for violators of anti-COVID regulations and imposing stricter supervision on overseas arrivals, given the expected Christmas wave of overseas Hong Kong students returning to the city.

Global Edition
BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349