Coronavirus: Hong Kong could ease flight bans, class suspensions next week, city leader says, as 21,650 cases reported
- The measures up for review also include lengthy quarantine periods for incoming travellers, with an announcement also due on a controversial plan for universal Covid-19 testing
- Many of the measures were supposed to last until April 20, but Lam said she had ‘a very strong feeling that people’s tolerance is fading’
Hong Kong may ease some of its tough pandemic restrictions that include flight bans, class suspensions and lengthy quarantine for travellers a month earlier than planned, with the city’s leader conceding that public tolerance is reaching its limit.
Speaking at her daily press conference on Thursday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said it was time for the government to undertake a “midterm review” of its current measures, after political and medical heavyweights urged authorities to offer a road map for the next stage of the coronavirus epidemic.
“I’m working [on] it day and night to find the optimal solution for Hong Kong,” Lam said, referring to a plan for the city to reopen to the outside world.
“The time has come, not because the number of cases has come down significantly – they are actually now at a high-level plateau – but I have a very strong feeling that people’s tolerance is fading. I have a very good [feeling] that some of our financial institutions are losing patience about the isolated status of Hong Kong.”
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Hong Kong leader hints of possible easing of Covid-19 restrictions as city records 21,650 new cases
On Thursday, Hong Kong confirmed 21,650 new coronavirus cases – including 13,022 through rapid antigen tests – bringing the city’s overall tally for the pandemic to 996,862. Health authorities reported 289 deaths, including backlogged ones, taking the total to 5,136.
