Gov’t to observe virus trend

May 13, 2020

Under Secretary for Food & Health Dr Chui Tak-yi:
Concerning all the government measures in reducing social contact, I think all the measures have been really quite tight in late April to early May, because of the development of the outbreak in say, early April, which is the peak, so to speak. 

So in view of the development of the outbreak in mid to late April, in terms of not every day we had a reported case and also mostly imported cases and only after more than 20 days we have another newly confirmed local case, it’s in that context that the Government considered it might be an appropriate measure to relax (the measures) a little bit, with also constraints to the previous very tight measures, including for example, closing 11 types of scheduled premises. So we relaxed the number of people in say, group gatherings and also reopened seven scheduled premises with conditions. So all the considerations (for) relaxation or limited relaxation are based on epidemic data and also views from the experts to the Government. 

So I think with a new confirmed case for one day we will observe very closely the trend and decide whether we need to adjust the measures accordingly.

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Under Secretary for Food & Health Dr Chui Tak-yi today said the Government will closely observe the trend of the COVID-19 epidemic before deciding on whether to adjust social distancing measures.

Dr Chui told a press briefing that because of the development of the outbreak last month, the Government considered it appropriate to relax some of the measures.

“All the measures have been really quite tight in late April to early May, because of the development of the outbreak in say, early April, which is the peak, so to speak.

“So in view of the development of the outbreak in mid to late April, in terms of not every day we had a reported case and also mostly imported cases and only after more than 20 days we have another newly confirmed local case, it’s in that context that the Government considered it might be an appropriate measure to relax the measures a little bit, with also constraints to the previous very tight measures.”

Earlier this month, the Government lifted certain social distancing measures under two regulations on prevention and control of disease, including relaxing from four to eight the number of people allowed in group gatherings in public places, while seven of the 11 types of scheduled premises were allowed to resume operation subject to conditions.

“All the considerations for relaxation or limited relaxation are based on epidemic data and also views from the experts to the Government.

“So I think with a new confirmed case for one day we will observe very closely the trend and decide whether we need to adjust the measures accordingly,” Dr Chui added.