Ban On Gatherings, Some Venues Needed: Sophia Chan

Health secretary Sophia Chan said on Thursday that the ban on public gatherings of more than two people cannot be relaxed yet, because there are unidentified coronavirus carriers and infection chains still in the community.

She was speaking on an RTHK radio programme ahead of relaxation of some social-distancing measures for businesses including restaurants and gyms. But the ban on venues like bars and karaoke rooms remain.

The health chief said relaxation of social-distancing measures must be done in an orderly and gradual manner to minimise the risk of a resurgence of cases.

When asked why some businesses like game arcades are still excluded but others including gyms could reopen, Chan said the decision has struck a balance between public hygiene and people’s mental health.

“Most importantly, we are doing it in an orderly manner slowly. We don’t want to relax everything at the same time, as that would lead to a high risk of infection. In particular, when we already know there are invisible patients and infection chains in the community. We have to be careful with every step we take.”

About the ongoing universal testing, Chan said as of 8pm on Wednesday, some 278,000 people had given samples in the first two days of testing. More than 800,000 people have registered to take tests in the programme.

Chan said 49,000 samples have been tested so far, but because of the large numbers involved, she could not say whether any of the people had tested positive.

Chan said the Centre for Health Protection would announce any positive tests once they'd been verified.

The free scheme, which is being operated with the support of the central government and mainland specialists, is intended to find so-called "invisible carriers" who may be transmitting the coronavirus in the community without realising it.