Wider Virus Outbreak Feared As 19 Local Cases Added

Health authorities reported 19 more locally-contracted Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, warning they are seeing an 'exponential growth' in the number of cases and fear a wider outbreak in the city.

“We are worried that there is a wider community outbreak,” said the Centre for Health Protection's Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, with the new local cases coming from a wide area from Tsuen Wan, Mong Kok, Tsz Wan Shan and Hong Kong Island.

She said the source of five of these new local cases remains unknown, and urged the public to seek medical attention quickly if they feel ill.

She said the health officials can identify close contacts quickly, but acknowledged that they aren't sure how many hidden cases are out there in the community.

The latest cases include four more elderly residents at a care home in Tsz Wan Shan, as well as four members of staff – one day after an elderly female resident was confirmed to have Covid-19.

Six new patients are linked to two separate outbreaks centred on restaurants in Choi Hung and Jordan. One of the patients works at a sushi shop inside a supermarket in the Taikoo Shing area.

With more cases linked to eateries, Chuang urged people to switch to takeaway instead.

She also said it's now time to tighten up Hong Kong's anti-epidemic measures, though she added that it's up to senior government staff to determine the extent to which any restrictions should be adjusted.

Five new imported cases were also reported on Wednesday. Two are from India, two are marine workers from the Philippines, and the fifth is a visitor from Kazakhstan. The 24 new cases brings the total number recorded in Hong Kong to 1,323.