Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor attends the Legislative Council Question Time on March 17, 2021. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY )
HONG KONG – Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told lawmakers that the vaccination process needed to be incentivized in order to encourage people to sign up as the city saw 11 cases on Wednesday.
Responding to queries at the Legislative Council, Lam said the government had discussed with central authorities the possibility of exempting Hong Kong people having received two vacccine shots from rigorous quarantine on the mainland.
The new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday included eight local infections, bringing the city’s tally to 11,340
“We are studying possible incentives … including relaxation of the city’s social distancing rules, in addition to resumption of cross-boundary travel,” Lam told lawmakers.
The new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday included eight local infections, bringing the city’s tally to 11,340.
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Around 10 people also tested preliminarily positive for the coronavirus, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing.
She said five of the new cases came from the cluster linked to Ursus Fitness, a gym in Sai Ying Pun. The cluster now has 132 patients, including 87 patrons, seven employees and their 38 close contacts, Chuang said.
Two of the three imported cases were from the Philippines while the remaining one was from Bulgaria, she added.
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Chuang said two new infections were untraceable. They included that of a bartender at Mr Brown restaurant in Wan Chai and that of a housewife living in Kingsland Villa, Ho Man Tin.
The bartender last went to work on Sunday and more than 10 of his co-workers need to be quarantined.
A three-year-old girl who lived at Dynasty Court Tower 3 in Mid-Levels also tested positive for the virus, Chuang said.
She last went to the Woodland Montessori Pre-school in Mid-Levels on Friday and the school’s staff members and students would be quarantined, Chuang added.
READ MORE: HK: New COVID-19 cases jump as gym cluster expands
On Wednesday night, the government cordoned off buildings in Causeway Bay and Sai Ying Pun for targeted coronavirus testing.
In a statement, the government said it cordoned off starting 8 pm Hoi Kung Court, 264-268 Gloucester Road and Hoi To Court, 271-275 Gloucester Road in Causeway Bay.
Residents were required to undergo compulsory testing before 1 am Thursday as the government expects to finish the exercise by 8 am.
In Sai Ying Pun, the government set up a restricted area at Kwan Yick Building Phase III, 271-285 Des Voeux Road West and said residents should get tested by 2 am Thursday. The government added that it expected to wrap up the operation at 7 am.