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Coronavirus: Singapore travel bubble postponed by two weeks, as Hong Kong hit with surge in Covid-19 cases
- Commerce minister Edward Yau says both governments agreed to delay the launch of the arrangement
- Hong Kong authorities also close down party rooms and ban live music performances at bars as 43 new infections reported
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An alarming surge of more than 100 Covid-19 infections in Hong Kong has prompted the abrupt two-week suspension of the city’s air travel bubble with Singapore on the eve of its launch.
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Hong Kong health authorities on Saturday confirmed 43 coronavirus cases, 13 of which were untraceable, and reported more than 60 new preliminary infections in what is now seen as the fourth wave of the pandemic.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said the pandemic was now “coming in full fury”.
In a bid to limit the explosion of cases, authorities said they would shut down party rooms for five days starting on Sunday after the emergence of a “super-spreading” event involving 14 dance studios and clubs. Anyone who had visited the venues since November 1 would be forced to undergo testing, the first time mandatory screening has been introduced in Hong Kong.
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Countries around the world were closely following the travel bubble scheme as a possible way forward in making air travel safer during the pandemic, commerce minister Edward Yau Tang-wah said.
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