Hongkong: Masks made mandatory, Government officials work from home as coronavirus cases surge

Hong Kong on Monday (July 20) made the wearing of masks mandatory in all indoor public places and on public transport, and civil servants to work from home after the territory confirmed a record increase in new Covdi-19 (coronavirus) infections with more than 100 new cases.

Tony Nguyen

[email protected] July 21, 2020 | 09:34

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A passenger wearing a protective mask on bus in Hong Kong. Photo: Chan Long Hei/Sopa Images/REX/Shutterstock

At a Sunday press briefing, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said that her cabinet will seek to extend the existing compulsory mask rules to include all public indoor venues. Currently, masks must be worn on public transport, reported HKFP.

Restrictions on eateries will be extended. From 6pm-5am, dining in will not be allowed – only takeout will be available for another seven days from Tuesday. Inspections will be stepped up, Lam added, and there will still be a limit of four persons per table in the daytime.

“The situation is really critical and there is no sign the situation is coming under control,” Lam said. “We have a new wave of transmission, and this one is far more critical.”

Lam confirmed that health authorities would announce over 100 new coronavirus cases on Sunday – the highest daily total yet. DPA cited a source saying that the territory has recorded 12 virus-related deaths.

Civil servants to work from home for a week from Monday. Only emergency and essential public services will be provided.

Schools must take special measures to distribute student’s results remotely. Photo: HKFP

All public and private schools in Hong Kong will start their new academic year later, in mid-August, due to the new wave of infections, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung said on Monday.“It’s tough, but – still – we need to fight this epidemic together. I must appeal to the public to be patient, so we can bring this wave of transmission under control,” Lam added, appealing to business owners not to lay off staff.

Hong Kong tightens social-distancing rules as Covid-19 cases soar. Video: SCMP

* The United States - the worst-affected country by far – has recorded almost 3.7 million infections and 140,00 deaths. Yet the country is struggling to frame a consistent response to the crisis, with President Donald Trump refusing to mandate mask wearing in public.

* Officials in the Australian state of Victoria have taken a tougher approach. Face masks and coverings will be mandatory for roughly five million people in and around Melbourne from Thursday, with the threat of $140 fines for transgressors. The region recorded 275 cases on Monday. Almost 150 people are in hospital, including 31 in intensive care.

* South Africa’s death toll from coronavirus passed the 5,000 mark, according to official figures released on Sunday. South Africa registered 85 new deaths from the virus in the previous 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 5,033. A total of 13,449 new infections were also officially diagnosed, taking the number to 364,328, figures released by the health ministry showed.

* China has recorded 17 cases of coronavirus in the western province of Xinjiang. The capital Urumqi has entered a “wartime state”.

* The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, said on Sunday that he would postpone the second phase of the country’s economic reopening, slated to begin Tuesday, after evaluating inputs from experts and the Salvadoran health ministry.

* North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un berated construction managers for unspecified problems in building a showpiece hospital in comments reported Monday that may indicate the country is struggling to secure supplies amid US-led sanctions and a coronavirus lockdown.

* Papua New Guinea recorded its first Covid-19-related death – the first Pacific island fatality outside US territories and the first in Melanesia – as it seeks to contain an outbreak in the main hospital in its capital, Port Moresby.

(Source: The Guardian)

Victoria became the first state in Australia to require masks for part of its population. Photo: AAP Image via Reuters

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Tony Nguyen

The Guardian, HKFP, DPA