By The SUN
 |
| CE Lam admits fewer people are coming to HK because of the strict border restrictions (File) |
Outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam has blamed the recent
mass emigration of people in
She made her statement during an interview with CNBC earlier
on Friday, when asked whether
The CE, who will be stepping down from Hong Kong’s top post at the end of the month, said the security law is not so much the reason, as the strict rules imposed on all inbound travelers.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
"The border control measures have really made people
very impatient, and of course undermined
"Because if you couldn't travel freely to other places and into the mainland, how could you be a hub?"
She said that if the seven-day hotel quarantine is replaced
with home quarantine, many more people will come to
 |
| Pindutin para sa detalye |
Just a day earlier, she ruled out relaxing the border restrictions before her term ends at the end of the month.
She told lawmakers Hong Kong is caught between
 |
| While hundreds of cases are found in HK each day, only a few people are sent to hospital |
Meanwhile, health authorities reported 672 new Covid-19 cases, which they admitted was a sign that the infection tally has rebounded in recent days. From a daily tally of between 200 to 300, the infection numbers now range between 500 and 600.
Of today’s new infections, 291 were found via PCR tests, while the remaining 381 were confirmed results from rapid tests.
The daily tally included 59 imported cases, 27 of which were detected at the airport, 25 during hotel quarantine and seven post-isolation.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said there have been silent transmissions of Omicron sub-variants in various districts, but “fortunately, most of the cases are asymptomatic.”
 |
She said no case had led to severe symptoms or death likely because a big number of people here have been fully vaccinated.
Still, she said authorities are keeping a close eye on whether the rise in infections could strain the city’s health system.
"We hope to monitor how this will weigh on our healthcare system," she said.
 |
| BAN ON FLIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES LIFTED ON APRIL 1. BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS NOW! PRESS FOR DETAILS |
Chuang reported 11 cases involving the BA.2.12.1 sub-variant where the source could not be identified.
They include a 10-year-old boy and a 68-year-old female who live in separate buildings in Homantin; a couple aged 84 and 86, and a 49-year-old man who all live in Tseung Kwan O; a family of three and a 47-year-old man who reside in Tuen Mun; as well as a 33-year-old woman who lives in Wan Chai.
As for schools, 106 additional infections from 93 campuses were reported, involving 84 students and 22 teachers. Chuang said 32 schools have had two or more cases in the past week.
The new cases include three students attending the same class at Po Leung Kuk school in To Kwa Wan. As a result, face-to-face lessons have been suspended for a week for this class, the second in the school.
Another teacher at the international section of
Also suspended was the morning class of Joyful World Kindergarten in Tsuen Wan after two students and two teachers there were infected. T
Likewise, class 5S of
As for the bars, Shuffle on Lan Kwai Fong had three more infections, pushing the tally there to 113. Six of the cases involved staff members while the rest were patrons.
Chuang said the outbreaks in three of the four bars where case clusters emerged appear to be linked.
The virus appears to have broken out first at Iron Fairies on Hollywood Road and then spread to LINQ on Pottinger and Shuffle, as customers went to all three bars repeatedly.
Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said there were no new Covid-related deaths, so the tally from the fifth wave remains at 9,177.
A total of 374 patients are still receiving treatments at
public hospitals and the
 |
| PADALA NA! |
