HONG KONG, July 19-- Hong Kong announced new anti-epidemic measures on Sunday, including mandatory mask-wearing in all indoor public places, as daily confirmed cases for the first time surpassed 100 since the COVID-19 outbreak. The move came a few days after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government tightened control measures in the face of a worsening epidemic situation. There has been no sign that the coronavirus spread is brought under control, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a press conference on Sunday afternoon. At another press briefing, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Center for Health Protection said that due to the surging new cases, the center was only able to count 108 confirmed cases from 4:00 p.m. local time to midnight Saturday and the number of cases on Sunday has yet to be calculated. The COVID-19 tally in Hong Kong accumulated to 1,885. Of the new cases, 83 were local infections, and the transmission chains of 48 of them were still unknown. Lam said the Executive Council will convene a special meeting to revise an anti-disease regulation to make it mandatory for people to wear face masks in all indoor public places, an escalation from the existing requirement of mask-wearing on public transport. The closures of 12 types of entertainment venues and dining restrictions over restaurants, due to expire on Tuesday, will be extended for another seven days, Lam said. |