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Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 17:17
HK sees 48 new COVID-19 cases, 40 locally transmitted
By Bloomberg
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 17:17 By Bloomberg

Pedestrians and schoolchildren wearing protective masks walk along a sidewalk in Hong Kong on July 10. (ROY LIU/BLOOMBERG)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 48 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, of which 40 locally transmitted, as the financial hub saw a resurgence that could be bigger than the previous waves.

The continuous spike in local cases prompted the special administrative region's government to implement its strictest suite of social distancing measures yet on Monday.

Bars, gyms and beaches will be closed, public gatherings limited to four people, and fines will be doled out to those refusing to wear masks on public transport as officials try to slow a growing resurgence. 

READ MORE: HK tightens rules after 8th death, 52 new COVID-19 cases

The new local cases brought the total outbreak to 224 people in around a week.

The sweeping set of measures, announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Monday night, illustrate how the second and third waves of the coronavirus pandemic around the world could be worse than the initial outbreak, requiring ever more painful shutdowns. Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne and the US state of California have also moved to re-impose lockdown restrictions as new waves of infection surge.

The breadth of Hong Kong’s social distancing measures reflects the large proportion of cases of unknown origins, which grew to 24 out of 40 local cases on Tuesday. Because officials cannot identify where the infections are centered, they’ve levied containment measures across the city, rather than targeting specific places where clusters have arisen.

The breadth of Hong Kong’s social distancing measures reflects the large proportion of cases of unknown origins, which grew to 24 out of 40 local cases on Tuesday

For residents finding themselves back in crisis after a six-week stretch of normal life, the change is jarring. While the closures are for an initial period of seven days, officials said they may be extended if the outbreak does not slow. Dining-in may be barred completely next, after now being limited to between 6 pm and 5am.

“I’m so depressed when I see the rising case numbers,” said Liu Jia, a 30-year-old investment banker. “I feel my career is stuck and I myself am also stuck physically in the city. Everything is back to the painful time we’ve been suffering months ago, and the entire year will be wasted.”

ALSO READ: HK Book Fair postponed amid spike in virus cases

The resurgence will likely stamp out the tentative green shoots that Hong Kong’s battered economy had been showing. With locals unable to travel out of the city this summer, the retail and hospitality sectors had been seeing signs of a recovery in demand before the latest flareup.

“Hong Kong’s economy had just warmed up and now we have the third wave of outbreak,” said Francis Kwok, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts and Professional Commentators. “Working in the financial industry, the most vital thing for us is the economy so everyone can go to work and run business normally. The worsening outbreak will also affect the mood of the financial market.”

The broad restrictions on businesses are a source of frustration, said Herbert Chow, chief executive officer of children’s clothing brand Chickeeduck Retail Hong Kong Ltd., who formerly owned an ice-skating rink in a shopping mall. The rink is being asked to close along with other leisure outlets like cinemas, although patrons are not in an enclosed space.

“After having to close for 40 days from March 28 to May 7, now we are being asked to close again,” he said of the rink. “The government uses a broad stroke policy and treats everybody in this one sector the same.”

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