Hong Kong official warns of potential virus outbreak, urges people to stay indoors

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has urged its residents to stay indoors as new restrictions are being rolled out to counter the potential large-scale community outbreak in the city.

In a statement on Tuesday, Carrie Lam said: “We are on the verge of a large-scale community outbreak, which may lead to a collapse of our hospital system and cost lives, especially of the elderly.”

She further encouraged people to stay at home as long as possible and strictly adhere to the social distancing measures in order to protect loved ones, the healthcare staff, and Hong Kong itself. 

Mandatory face masks, closure of dine-in restaurants, and restricting public gatherings to only two people are some of the new regulations that will be implemented in the city from Wednesday.

Lam’s statement comes at a time when the city is grappling with an increase in Covid-19 cases with 106 confirmed cases only on Tuesday. Hong Kong has recorded 2880 Covid-19 cases with 23 deaths since January according to Reuters.

Many dine-in restaurants are shifting to more affordable locations to save on rent as they have been struggling financially due to the pandemic.

Read More