Hong Kong to extend social distancing measures for 7 days

Matthew Cheung, Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Tuesday that in view of the latest COVID-19 situation, the existing social distancing measures due to expire on Thursday will be extended for another seven days.

Cheung told the media that over the past week there are still untraceable new cases reported and the trend of local cases is growing. He urged the public to stay vigilant to prevent the epidemic from rebounding.

The social distancing measures included mandatory mask-wearing in public places, group gatherings of no more than four persons. Catering businesses, entertainment premises and sports venues should operate upon meeting the epidemic prevention requirements.

Cheung said that within this month, three measures will soon be taken including the launch of a contact tracing mobile app "Leave Home Safe" for Hong Kong residents to keep track of places they visited, which will enable the local health authorities to track contacts of COVID-19 confirmed cases more effectively.

The other two included allowing Hong Kong residents who meet certain conditions to be exempted from the 14-day mandatory proposal on their return from Guangdong Province or Macao, and implementing the bilateral Air Travel Bubble with Singapore.

According to Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection, as of Monday, in Hong Kong, the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded is 5,380 and the number of deaths related is 107.