By Vir B. Lumicao
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| Boat parties will no longer be allowed and the public is advised to report any such gathering (File) |
Chief Executive Carrie Lam, calling for self-discipline as key to defeating the coronavirus pandemic, urged people today, Dec 1, to stay at home and shun social gatherings as police will strictly apply the new social distancing rules from tomorrow.
Lam also called on the public to report to an emergency hotline any crowd-gathering on piers and private yachts.
She made her pronouncements as the government intensifies a campaign to stop the worsening fourth wave of the contagion, which today infected 82 people, according to health officials.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
Separately, the government postponed until next year planned quarantine-free tours that tap into the Hong Kong-Singapore air travel bubble on the eve of the inaugural flights.
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said in a
statement the bubble arrangements would be reviewed in “late December”, with a
view to reassessing the health conditions in
As cases rose in the contagion’s fourth wave, the Executive Council approved social-distancing rules including re-imposing a ban on church services, large weddings and local tours, and slapping heavier fines for breaches of protocols and mask-wearing rules in its weekly meeting today.
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As of this writing, it appears the cabinet is still working on the details of the new rules.
“Stay at home, especially if you are an elderly person. Avoid social gatherings when you are at home. Don’t ask your friends and families to go to one another’s homes,” she said in a meeting with media before the ExCo session.
Lam singled out private individuals who she said have been organizing parties on yachts at sea to avoid the social distancing rules. She said the Marine Police will now act on any such breaches, including boarding vessels to enforce the law.
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| CE Lam is cracking down on violators of quarantine and gathering restrictions |
“If you identify any breaches, call the hotline 3660 8623 and the Marine Police will do their job,” Lam said. There are three platforms for reporting breaches – the Marine Police, the online platform 1823, and the police, she said.
She also urged the public to report to police if they see anybody with a quarantine wristband on the street, or entering a restaurant or any public place.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Lam said people who work for target groups such as homes for elderly people and persons with physical disabilities should go to mandatory quarantine for 14 days and undergo another test after 19 or 20 days.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection reported 82 new Covid-19 cases, 10 of them imported, 32 related to the dance club cluster, 17 linked to previous infections, and 23 with unknown sources.
Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP’s communicable disease branch, said in the daily press briefing that there were more than 60 preliminary cases today.
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Chuang said the dance club cluster now accounts for 552 of the city’s 6,397 total cases.
She also said the Pine Tree Hill Seafood Restaurant on
Three new cases reported today were linked to a construction site at Lohas Park Phase 9, where eight others have tested preliminary positive, Chuang said. All who worked there from Nov 15 onwards must undergo testing.
The main contractor at the site suspended operations and sent more than 900 employees for testing.
Among today’s cases were three employees and two residents at Fong Shu Chuen Day Activity Centre & Hostel, in addition to eight who tested positive in a quarantine center.
A resident at Pak Lok Nursing Home in San Po Kong also tested positive, prompting mandatory testing for 50 residents and several employees.
Two employees and a resident at Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Ho Yuk Ching Willow Lodge in Tai Kok Tsui also tested positive.
Among the 10 imported cases are four newly arrived women from Indonesia, aged 21, 28, 29 and 38. Two arrived from Canada, and one each from the United States, Poland, Pakistan and India.
Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority, said that as at 9am today, 17 confirmed Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospital, raising the total number of recoveries to 5,361.
A total of 812 confirmed patients are currently confined in 21 public hospitals and the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, Lau said. Of this number, 14 patients are in critical condition, seven are in serious condition and the remaining 791 are in stable condition.
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