HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Hong Kong government closed an area of the Kowloon Peninsula on Saturday after the outbreak of the new coronavirus and said 10,000 residents should stay home until they have been tested and the results largely determined.
The first such measure that has hit the city since the pandemic began took place in the densely populated neighborhoods of Jordan where many older, subdivided apartments are where the virus can spread more easily.
The government said there were 70 buildings in the restricted area, which is close to the International Trade Center (ICC), and it intends to complete the process within about 48 hours so that people can start working again on Monday.
Carrie Lam, leader in Hong Kong, said 50 subjects had been installed and that 3,000 officials were providing assistance.
“We are also doing this to allay the concerns of the residents, as there has been talk that this is an epidemic area and that it is affecting the lives, psychology and business of the people here,” Lam said at a briefing. near the cordoned off area said.
On Saturday at 13:00 (05:00 GMT) local time, the government said about 3,000 people had been tested in the restricted area.
The restricted area confirmed 162 confirmed cases of COVID-19 this month, and the proportion of virus detected in sewage samples from buildings there was higher than that of other areas.
Authorities in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, have taken aggressive measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Other current restrictions include a ban on dining after 6pm and the closure of facilities such as gyms, sports halls, beauty salons and cinemas.
Last week, the city extended the arrangements for civil servants from house to house until January 27th.
Hong Kong recorded 81 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to 10,010. More than 160 people were killed. At the outbreak of the city in July 2020, the highest daily score was 149 new infections.
Reporting by Clare Jim and Twinnie Siu; Edited by Anne Marie Roantree and Edwina Gibbs