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Coronavirus Hong Kong
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong third wave: Carrie Lam steps up fight against coronavirus, with masks to be made mandatory in indoor public places and civil servants working from home

  • Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam also warns the city could be hit by another wave of infections in winter, just as health experts had feared
  • Hong Kong reports a record-high 108 confirmed Covid-19 infections, of which 83 are locally transmitted and 25 imported

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Medical workers take samples from taxi drivers at a temporary specimen collection point for Covid-19 testing. Photo: Edmond So
Phila Siu,Zoe LowandChan Ho-him
  • Key points:
    • Wearing a mask to become mandatory in indoor public places such as shopping centres
    • Civil servants to work from home for a week from Monday. Only emergency and essential public services will be provided
    • Rules on restaurants extended for a week to July 28: dine-in services banned from 6pm until 5am; only four people per table allowed
    • About 2,000 more quarantine units to be built near Hong Kong Disneyland. AsiaWorld-Expo being converted to house stable coronavirus patients and will accommodate elderly residents if outbreaks occur at more care homes
    • Government urges schools to give Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) candidates their results online so they do not have to visit campus
    Hong Kong has stepped up its fight against the worsening coronavirus crisis, with the government to make the wearing of masks mandatory in indoor public places, while also ordering civil servants to work from home and ramping up quarantine facilities, as the city confirmed more than 100 new cases on Sunday.
    Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the raft of measures as she warned the city could be hit by another wave of infections in winter, just as health experts had feared.

    “The situation is very severe and there are no signs this is getting under control,” Lam said.

    But she added that more cases had been reported because the government had conducted mass testing. On average, she said, 10,000 people were tested for Covid-19 each day in the past week, more than the 7,500 tests medical experts had suggested.

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    Hong Kong tightens social-distancing rules as Covid-19 cases soar

    Hong Kong tightens social-distancing rules as Covid-19 cases soar

    The health authorities, meanwhile, said the city reported 108 new cases – a record high – from 4pm on Saturday until midnight, and that there had been more than 20 confirmed infections on Sunday. Including new infections, the tally of confirmed cases soared to at least 1,905, with 12 deaths.

    Lam said the Department of Justice was working on the legal amendments to require the wearing of masks in indoor public places, after the government last week made it mandatory to use face coverings on public transport.

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