Lam takes action as virus spreads out of control across HK

HONG KONG • The coronavirus is spreading out of control in Hong Kong, with a record 108 new cases confirmed, the finance hub's leader said yesterday as she tightened social distancing measures to tackle the sudden surge in infections.

In the last two weeks, infections have spiked and doctors fear the latest outbreak is now spreading undetected in the densely packed territory of 7.5 million people.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a news conference that the city had recorded more than 100 cases in the past 24 hours, the most since the pandemic took hold in late January, taking the tally to 1,886 patients, 12 of whom have died.

More than 500 infections had been confirmed in the last fortnight alone.

"I think the situation is really critical and there is no sign the situation is being brought under control," Mrs Lam told reporters.

She had announced social distancing measures last week, shuttering many businesses including bars, gyms and nightclubs, and ordering everyone to wear masks on public transport. Restaurants were ordered to only offer takeout services in the evenings.

Mrs Lam announced even more regulations yesterday, including plans to make it compulsory to wear masks in indoor public places such as shopping centres. Civil servants are to work from home for a week from today, and only emergency and essential public services will be provided.

As hospital wards fill, officials are also scrambling to build a further 2,000 isolation rooms on barren land near the city's Disneyland resort to monitor and treat those who test positive, she added.

Mrs Lam called for landlords to look at lowering rents in the notoriously expensive city where inequality is rampant. She said further social distancing measures would be rolled out if the daily infection rate did not ease in coming days. But she also said she was keen to avoid ordering people to remain at home.

"We can't just make a simple and extreme move to cut everything at once," Mrs Lam said.

The authorities say testing will be ramped up, targeting high-risk populations such as taxi drivers and restaurant workers after clusters were found within their ranks.

Some of the new infections have swept through elderly care homes, a major cause of concern given how deadly Covid-19 is to older people.

Mrs Lam said officials would try to strike a balance between protecting health and keeping the economy partially afloat.

"It's hard to tell what kind of measures we will need to roll out... many places have ordered people to stay home," she said, adding: "We haven't adopted that in the last six months because we wanted to maintain a normal life for everyone."

Earlier yesterday, an event by pro-democracy activists to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack on a train station by an armed mob was stopped by police for breaking coronavirus measures that restrict group gatherings to four people.

The Yuen Long attack, which saw demonstrators and bystanders beaten up by more than 100 men with pipes and poles on July 21 last year, was one of the most violent scenes of the city's pro-democracy protests. Yesterday, a small number of protesters marked the anniversary by chanting slogans in a shopping mall.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS