The new measure targets two districts covering a small but densely populated part of the Kowloon peninsula.
According to the South China Morning Post on Friday, Hong Kong will put tens of thousands of residents in a lockdown to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, the first such measure taken by the China-ruled city since the pandemic began.
The Post, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, said the new measure will target the Jordan and Sham Shui Po districts that cover a small, but densely populated, part of the Kowloon Peninsula.
The neighborhoods are home to many older flats that have been subdivided to make way for more people, creating the kind of conditions where the virus can spread more easily.
“Persistently high and spreading infection [in the areas] and sewer monitoring suggests that the outbreak is not yet under control and that there are still many silent sources in the area, ”said a source.
Health authorities in the city of 7.5 million residents first isolated four residential blocks in the area last Friday, preventing people from entering or leaving these buildings to ensure that all residents were quarantined.
The government will only lift the lockdown statement if it is satisfied that everyone in the area has been tested, the paper said.
Gyms, cinemas are closed
Hong Kong has reported far fewer infections than other major world cities so far, with fewer than 10,000 cases in the last year. The area’s death toll is 167.
On Thursday, health officials reported 70 cases, 63 of which were locally acquired, 16 of which were of unknown origin.
Last week, the city expanded homework for civil servants.
Other COVID restrictions include a ban on in-house dining after 6:00 PM (10:00 GMT) and the closure of facilities such as gyms, sports venues, beauty salons, and movie theaters.
Health workers wear hazmat suits while local residents line up for mandatory COVID-19 test after spike in cases in Jordan’s Kowloon district [Anthony Wallace/AFP]
Hong Kong also plans to require flight crew entering the territory for more than two hours to be quarantined in a hotel for two weeks.
Meanwhile, officials have ordered medical workers to refrain from socializing with others after four nurses from different hospitals tested positive or preliminary positive for the virus, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.
“We want to remind our colleagues not to eat together on work or on vacation,” Linda Yu, a senior health official, said on the news site.
“It will soon be the Lunar New Year holiday, we hope our colleagues can bear it for a while [longer] and keep a social distance. “