Hong Kong's new Covid cases raise concerns over Air Travel Bubble

Published Fri, Nov 20, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Hong Kong

A WAVE of new Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong is raising concerns among Singaporeans over the upcoming travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong.

In a statement last night, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said some members of the public have asked if the Singapore-Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble will proceed on Nov 22, given that Hong Kong on Friday recorded 26 cases, a situation which Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan has described as "severe".

CAAS said: "We are working closely with Singapore Ministry of Health to gather the facts, and will update the public shortly. The Singapore and Hong Kong governments are in close contact on the situation."

Hong Kong earlier announced it will impose new social restrictions and ask more students to stay home as local cases jumped by the most in about three months, signalling the arrival of a new wave.

The city said of the 26 new infections on Friday, 21 are local, Bloomberg news reported. Nine of the local cases cannot be traced. The government has also detected over 40 preliminary cases awaiting confirmation, a sign that Friday's jump is not an anomaly. The surge comes as other parts of Asia, including Japan and South Korea, see alarming flareups as colder weather sets in.

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Classes for primary school levels 1 to 3 will be suspended from Nov 23 for two weeks. Kindergartens and nurseries have been suspended since a week ago due to outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infection and the risks of coronavirus resurgence. No students or school staff have tested positive for Covid-19 yet, said officials.

"Hong Kong's epidemic has shown rapid deterioration and experts have said the fourth wave is inevitable," Ms Chan said in a briefing on Friday. "We have done a series of measures to strengthen control, but we still see the situation turning bad."

The turn for the worse comes two days ahead of the Air Travel Bubble launch. This quarantine-free travel arrangement would be suspended for two weeks once the seven-day moving average of local, untraceable cases in either city rises above five.

Over the past seven days, Hong Kong has recorded 15 untraceable local cases, inching closer towards the red line of 35.

With the first flights scheduled to take off on Sunday, travellers may face the prospect of the bubble being suspended before or during their trips, Bloomberg reported.

The Hong Kong government is hoping that the flare-up can be contained before reaching the level of the outbreak that started in early July, Hong Kong's worst-ever.

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