Quarantine Stepped Up Again To Safeguard Health

The government announced on Tuesday that families of people infected with the coronavirus who can't properly isolate from them at home will be sent into quarantine along with the patient.

The Secretary for Food and Health, Sophia Chan, also revealed that more quarantine facilities may be reopened to house them.

"If the family of a Covid patient only shares one toilet, we will arrange for family members to go to designated facilities for quarantine," Chan said.

"This is very important. It is to safeguard the health of the patient and his or her family," the health secretary told a news conference.

Officials reported 849 new Covid-19 infections for the day, including 97 imported cases. That's up from the 737 infections reported on Monday.

"As cases are climbing now," Chan said, "we will enforce this measure strictly. Depending on the need, we may reopen community quarantine facilities."

She also announced that people will have to test negative for Covid-19 before they can enter bars or nightclubs from Thursday, as Hong Kong strives to curb coronavirus cases ahead of the 25th anniversary of the handover.

Chan warned that the daily Covid toll could exceed 1,000 this month and said authorities have stepped up contact tracing to tackle the rising trend of infections.

"The 25th handover anniversary is approaching. It's an important milestone for Hong Kong. We will do our best to ensure the celebrations can go ahead. The cooperation of businesses and individuals is important to ensure our coronavirus situation remains stable," she said.

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