Relax Restrictions If No Unusual Outbreak: Expert

Respiratory disease expert Professor David Hui of the Chinese University said on Saturday that he thinks Hong Kong could consider relaxing some coronavirus social distancing measures - provided there are no unusual community outbreaks before May 7.

Speaking on a radio programme, Hui, who has been advising the government on the pandemic, said the safest thing to do would be to relax some of the rules 28 days - or two incubation periods - after the last local case had been recorded, which was on April 19.

But he admitted that it is difficult to achieve. He suggested a staged approach to ease the restrictions if there are only isolated local infections that are traceable.

“For example, the civil servants may resume normal duties. We may also consider allowing secondary students to resume school because they usually have better hygiene,” he said.

Hui also said people would probably have to keep wearing masks for between 12 and 18 months, until a coronavirus vaccine is available.

"The virus is still circulating widely internationally. At the moment, we don't have any immunity. Until we have the vaccine available by mid-2021, the only thing that we can protect ourselves is to pay attention to personal hygiene, such as by wearing a surgical mask in public and crowded areas, and by paying attention to hand hygiene," he said.

He added that the city's current border restrictions will have to stay in place longer, as imported cases remain a threat.

He said, in the meantime, Hong Kong should keep a close eye on the situation both on the mainland and overseas.

“We have to watch out for the number of new cases occurring in overseas countries. We are also observing whether there’s any second wave of transmission on the mainland of China where some of the provinces are returning to normal,” he said.