Hong Kong to lockdown thousands for first time: report
Hong Kong looks set to put tens of thousands of its residents in a lockdown to contain a new outbreak of the coronavirus - a local newspaper reported on Friday (January 22).
It would be the first such measure the city has taken since the pandemic began last year.
Citing unnamed sources, the South China Morning Post said the new measure will target two districts which cover a small, but densely populated part of the city.
Health authorities first isolated four apartment blocks in the area last Friday (January 15), stopping people from entering or leaving those buildings to make sure all residents are quarantined.
The government will only lift the lockdown declaration when it is satisfied everyone in the lockdown area has been tested, the paper said.
Hong Kong has so far reported far fewer infections than other major world cities and just 167 deaths.
Last week, the city extended work from home arrangements for civil servants. Other COVID restrictions include a ban on in-house dining after 6 p.m. and the closure of gyms, sports venues, beauty salons and cinemas.
Hong Kong is also set to require flight crew entering the city for more than two hours to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks.
