As Hong Kong witnesses ‘fourth stage’ of Covid-19, concerns rise over air travel bubble with Singapore

The uncertainty surrounding the high-profile Hong Kong-Singapore air journey bubble has elevated after the previous British colony on Friday introduced a number of measures to manage what authorities right here have described as a possible “fourth wave” of the coronavirus illness (Covid-19) instances.

“Hong Kong’s epidemic has shown rapid deterioration and experts have said the fourth wave is inevitable,” secretary for meals and well being Sophia Chan mentioned in a briefing on Friday. “We have done a series of measures to strengthen control, but we still see the situation turning bad,” she added.

Hong Kong reported 26 new Covid-19 instances on Friday, of which 21 are native. This took its general Covid-19 caseload to five,517 together with 108 deaths. An extra 40 preliminary instances awaiting affirmation have additionally been detected. Various measures introduced by the Hong Kong authorities to manage the virus’ unfold embrace suspension of courses for major faculty ranges 1 to three for 2 weeks beginning November 23, in addition to necessary mass testing amongst sure teams.

Commenting on the state of affairs, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore mentioned on late Friday it was working intently with the Singapore well being ministry to “gather the facts.” Responding to queries on whether or not the air bubble would certainly proceed forward as deliberate, it mentioned, “The Singapore and Hong Kong governments are in close contact on the situation.”

Hong Kong and Singapore had entered talks over a attainable air journey bubble final month and, final week, confirmed November 22 as the beginning date of the bubble. This association between the 2 monetary hubs is the world’s first quarantine-free journey association open to all residents. Under the settlement, the journey bubble can be suspended for 2 weeks as soon as the seven-day transferring common of native, untraceable instances on both aspect rise to over 5.

Over the previous week, Hong Kong has seen 15 untraceable native instances and is inching in direction of the mark of 35 which, as soon as crossed, would result in the journey bubble being suspended.

(With company inputs)