Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
With a record 100 new infections reported in past 24-hours, coronavirus situation in Hong Kong was stated to be critical by the territory’s leader, Carrie Lam.
The virus is spreading in Hong Kong as fears grow of another wave in the winter months. Hong Kong was held up months ago as a model for its success in keeping down Covid-19 cases in the crowded city-state of 7.5 million people, but its caseload – although still low by European and American standards – had grown by a third in the past fortnight to nearly 1,800.
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Lam has brought down shutters upon bars, gyms and nightclubs in the past week and on Sunday evening announced new guidelines including mandatory mask-wearing indoors. “I think the situation is really critical and there is no sign the situation is being brought under control,” she told media.
Melbourne, too, was thought to be on the way to eradicating the virus a month ago but has since reinstated a full lockdown in response to record daily increases in infections. On Sunday, the state premier, Daniel Andrews, said everyone in Australia’s second-largest city as well as an adjacent area would have to wear a mask or a face covering from Wednesday onwards.
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It is the first time masks have been made compulsory in the country, with a threat of a A$200 (US$111) fine for non-compliance. Andrews announced a further 363 cases of Covid-19 as he introduced the face-coverings requirement on Sunday, marking a fortnight of triple-figure rises in new daily cases in and around the city.
Masks have been made mandatory while stepping out of the house in several countries including India where a fine of upto Rs 500 has been imposed for the violators.
