The SUN HK : Gathering restrictions to stay as 8 new infections reported, 3 with unknown source

By The SUN

CE Lam says the rise in the number of infections with no known source is causing concern

Hong Kong government officials have announced that social distancing measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus will remain in place for at least one more week amid fears the local outbreak is worsening.

A total eight new infections were reported today, Oct 6, five of them locally acquired, and three were of unknown sources.

The three imported cases included a newly arrived Filipina domestic worker who flew in aboard Hong Kong Airlines, a seafarer who came from Germany via Turkey, and a returnee from Russia.

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The new Covid-19 cases brought Hong Kong’s total tally to 5,133 with 105 related deaths and 4,875 recoveries.

The first to announce the decision to keep the public gathering limit to four persons was Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who spoke to the media this morning ahead of the Executive Council meeting.

CE Lam said that while the third wave of infections has eased, there’s concern about the spike in the number of local cases with unknown sources. This week, she said that out of 10 local cases, seven had untraceable sources. The week before, there was only one or 2 such cases.

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“So we need to remain vigilant,” she said. “The government will remain on high alert.”

This means, according to her, that there will be no further relaxation of the gathering restrictions for the time being.

Food and Health Secretary Dr. Sophia Chan made the announcement official at a later news conference. She said that there were signs that the outbreak could worsen due to the recent increase in the number of cases that could not be traced.

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“Further to the lowering of the number of such cases, it has not continued to decrease but instead it has increased,” Dr Chan said.

She further said that the impact of the recent long holiday weekend, when a large number of people went out of their homes, still needs to be assessed.

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“We are very closely monitoring the situation. That’s why we want to maintain by and large in the coming week our social distancing measures.”

At least two of today’s untraceable cases involved local residents who went out for social gatherings and meals on Oct. 1, the first day of the long holiday to mark National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival.

One of them was a 33-year-old unemployed man who gathered with 16 family members in a relative’s a house in Whampoa Gardens in Hung Hom. The man, who lives in North Point, went out again on Oct 2 to see a movie in City Plaza, and ate at “Sour and Spicy” noodle house in Fortress Hill.

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Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the man’s 16 relatives who had a meal with him have been sent to a quarantine centre.

Another patient, a 22-year-old student in an online school, had a slight fever on Oct 1, but went to a noodle shop in Tuen Mun, and had dessert with five friends in Yuen Long. During the incubation period, he often went to a gym in Tuen Mun.

Dr Chuang said all his friends who had a meal with him have been sent to quarantine.

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The third case with no known source is a 43-year-old waiter at La Soleil Vietnamese Restaurant at Regal Park Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. He felt unwell on Oct 2, but still went to work briefly the next day. Six of his colleagues who ate and shared a rest lounge with him have been quarantined.

Dr Chuang advised those who visited the restaurants linked to the three cases and have started to feel unwell, to contact the CHP immediately.

The two other local cases include a Thai female visitor who shared a hostel with a compatriot who tested positive earlier. The other one was confirmed while under quarantine, and was linked to an imported case.