Hong Kong on Wednesday reimposed a few of its hardest Covid-19 restrictions, banning flights from eight international locations together with India till January 21, in a bid to arrest the rising variety of Omicron instances.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor introduced that travellers from eight international locations – Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK and the US, together with by way of transit – are banned from returning to the town for 2 weeks beginning Saturday, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Hong Kong is reimposing a few of its hardest Covid-19 restrictions throughout the board overlaying social actions and worldwide journey, setting a 6pm curfew on all dine-in providers and banning flights from eight international locations because it braces for a fifth wave of infections amid Omicron fears, the Post report mentioned.
Hong Kong, a serious aviation hub and monetary centre, is a Special Administrative Region of China.
Lam mentioned that the harder guidelines had been mandatory with the town on the verge of a wider coronavirus outbreak following the neighborhood detection of an unlinked Omicron case.
“There has been rapid change in the pandemic situation which has caused us to be worried. We will announce today fast, decisive and precise measures to cut the transmission chains,” Lam advised reporters at a press convention.
The two-week ban on passenger flights will probably be efficient till January 21.
Travellers who had been just lately in these international locations or had transited via them will probably be barred from returning to the town for 2 weeks.
She mentioned that the measures had been very important for stopping imported instances, particularly infections carrying the extremely transmissive Omicron variant, from spreading additional in the neighborhood and to stop public hospitals from being overloaded with Covid-19 sufferers.
Lam mentioned she hoped affected companies would perceive the “decisive, swift and sharp” motion taken to curtail the virus.
“We will take bold and stringent measures so that within a very short period of time we can contain the Omicron variant,” she mentioned.
Leading microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, declaring {that a} fifth Covid-19 wave was “technically” underway, mentioned that a variety of untraced instances had been showing in the neighborhood with well being officers nonetheless scrambling to pin down their origin.
Fellow authorities adviser Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the University of Hong Kong’s college of medication, estimated that it could take no less than three to 6 months to totally management the epidemic if there was a neighborhood outbreak.
“If so, the plan to open the border will once again fail,” he mentioned, amid a pending scheme to renew quarantine-free journey with mainland China.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong reported 38 Covid-19 instances, pushing the official tally to 12,799, with 213 associated deaths, the Post report mentioned.
India on Wednesday noticed a single-day rise of 58,097 new coronavirus infections, the very best in round 199 days, taking the whole tally of instances to three,50,18,358. The energetic instances had been recorded above 2 lakh after round 81 days, in response to the well being ministry.
The nation’s loss of life toll has climbed to 4,82,551 with 534 every day fatalities, the info said.
A complete of two,135 instances of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected, out of which, 828 have recovered or migrated, the ministry added.