An employee talks on his phone at an empty bar in Tsim Sha Tsui on Thursday as televisions air the government announcement of a shutdown of all bars in the city for two weeks from today to contain the pandemic. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
Hong Kong’s health chief on Thursday said “more aggressive” measures against the operation of beauty parlors could be implemented “at any time” as the government battles to further contain the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus.
Meeting the press, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee’s remarks came after the government ordered a two-week closure of bars starting from 6 pm today.
Hong Kong has now recorded four COVID-19 cases relating to beauty parlors — including two beauticians confirmed to be infected on Thursday.
One of the newly confirmed cases involved a beautician who visited a bar and took part in outdoor activities in late March along with another beautician who tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. They both worked for the same parlor, although in different branches of it.
The second beautician is a 33-year-old woman who works in Causeway Bay. She wore a face mask at work and was believed to know none of the confirmed patients.
The other two cases linked to beauty salons involved a beautician, found with the virus on Wednesday, and a client of the salon, who was confirmed earlier.
Health experts believe there may be high risks of cluster transmissions in beauty salons, as people there come into direct bodily contact with each other; moreover, patrons do not wear masks when getting facial treatments. Some experts have suggested an interim shutdown of beauty salons.
Meanwhile, the city’s 1,200 bars, pubs and other catering businesses that serve alcohol were required to close for two weeks starting 6 pm today. People who violate this order will be subject to a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,450).
Chan said 69 coronavirus patients were found to have visited bars in the city, with 28 cases in the nightlife district in Central. Hong Kong has now recorded 802 cases of COVID-19.
“This situation has really rung alarm bells,” she said, citing a surge in secondary and tertiary infection cases.
At least 14 people including a 40-day-old baby boy, who had not been to any bars, have contracted the virus. They are mostly close contacts of those 69 patients.
The 37 cases confirmed on Thursday also involved a locally infected patient whose cause of infection has yet to be identified. It is understood this patient, who worked part-time at a bar in Causeway Bay, had visited several other bars.
Among the latest patients, 30 people had a history of recent travel, including 17 students returning from overseas, and a 2-year-old child brought home from Sweden by its parents.
The government had earlier ordered the shutdown of cinemas, party rooms and gyms, and extended the list on Wednesday to close mahjong parlors, karaoke lounges and nightclubs.
It has also demanded three types of leisure venues — including beauty parlors — strengthen precautions against the virus. Currently, people need to get body temperature checks, have their hands sanitized, and wear masks in these places.
