Outbreak Fears Grow At Sha Tin Estate

Fears are growing of a new Covid-19 outbreak at a Sha Tin public housing estate, after a district councillor reported on Friday that more than 10 residents of Shui Chuen O Estate have been taken to hospitals by ambulance since Thursday night.

This comes as sources told RTHK around two dozen new Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Hong Kong on Friday, and authorities are set to announce an early summer break for local schools.

Some parents had already decided not to send their kids to school in the wake of a recent surge in the number of locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases.

Education Secretary Kevin Yeung is set to speak to the media at 2pm.

Authorities had started testing residents of Shui Chuen O Estate on Tuesday, right after a 66-year-old resident was confirmed with the disease.

Sha Tin district councillor Yau Man-chun said over a thousand residents have been tested so far.

Health authorities had warned earlier in the week that they fear a wide outbreak of the coronavirus as cases started to emerge from different parts of the city.

New cases have been linked to an elderly care home, schools, and restaurants, while some taxi drivers have also been confirmed to be infected over the last couple of days

On Thursday, the government announced it would be tightening restrictions on the number of people allowed at venues like restaurants, bars, gyms and nightclubs starting on Saturday.

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