Hong Kong's Lam urges caution but refrains from new Covid curbs

HONG KONG’S outgoing leader Carrie Lam urged residents to avoid banquets and other large gatherings amid a resurgence of Covid-19 in the Asian financial hub, but held off from imposing new restrictions as serious infections remain low.

The number of new cases has exceeded 1,000 for the past 3 consecutive days, the highest level in 2 months, Lam said at a hastily called press briefing on Friday (Jun 17) afternoon. The rise hasn't overwhelmed the city's health care system, however, with fewer than 2 dozen patients in serious or critical condition, she said.

"These are yardsticks used in many places in gauging the severity of the pandemic," Lam said, explaining why she didn't see a need to implement additional Covid restrictions now.

The focus stands in stark contrast to the approach followed in China, where mass testing is being carried out in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing in an effort to further reduce infection rates that are already among the world's lowest. The entire country reported 64 cases for June 16.

The rising number of cases in Hong Kong has caused some unease before the Jul 1 handover anniversary marking 25 years since Britain returned the city to Chinese control. A potential visit by China's President Xi Jinping to mark the event means officials are under pressure to control the outbreak, with Lam previously saying she is trying to create "favourable conditions" before the event.

She acknowledged that the situation is fluid.

"The motherland is always worried when there are things happening in Hong Kong that would cause concern," she said. "This is not an alarm bell yet."

There was no reprieve for the city's students, who must continue to get daily Covid-19 tests to attend school in person. The government does plan to make more of the tests available to schools for free. Staff members in elderly care homes also are required to get at least 3 vaccinations and undergo a laboratory test every 2 weeks, on top of daily rapid tests, Lam said.

The city this week started requiring patrons to show a negative rapid test result before entering bars and clubs after a series of clusters were linked to these venues. While more than 350 infections were tied to the bar outbreaks, they account for less than 4 per cent of the total number of cases in June. BLOOMBERG