Hong Kong has recorded a record 67 new cases of Covid-19, in a growing new outbreak which has seen the city reintroduce widespread restrictions.
On Thursday evening health authorities said it was investigating another 67 cases from the past 24 hours, of which 63 were locally transmitted. Worryingly, 35 cases had an unknown source of infection.
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(@heldavidson)Hong Kong recorded a record 67 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, more than half from an unknown source.
Govt graphic: Red dots mark buildings with recorded infections in the past 14 days. pic.twitter.com/RE611qxDZp
I cannot say this is a peak because usually you can only say it is a peak afterwards,” the head of the centre for health protection, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, told media.
“There is still a chance more cases are coming.”
Chuang said most of the newly diagnosed people live in the Tsz Wan Shan area and many had visited a local shopping centre and market.
“But we also found a few staff of the restaurants and also the customers visiting the restaurants,” said Chuang.
“Also we observed quite a number of taxi drivers and also customer-facing staff. Maybe they have met a lot of people and also many of them like to visit cha chaan tengs (Hong Kong-style cafes) and local restaurants.”
On Wednesday Hong Kong restaurants stopped allowing patrons to dine in and provided takeaway and delivery only between 6pm and 5am.
Twelve types of businesses including gaming centres, gyms, clubs and karaoke venues were also forced to close, and group gatherings are capped at 50 people for public places and 20 for weddings and company shareholder meetings. Public transport passengers must wear masks.
The new outbreak in Hong Kong has also set back mooted plans for a travel bubble with Macau and Guandong province. Those entering Guangdong must now provide proof of a Covid test (with a negative result) if they want to cross over the border to mainland China.
10 people have died after contracting Covid-19 in Hong Kong since the beginning of the pandemic, and there are currently 319 people in hospital.
Hong Kong remains off limits to any non-residents, but the government has now added further quarantine requirements for residents returning from high risk areas.
