London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Hong Kong urged to add European countries to Covid-19 high-risk list

Hong Kong urged to add European countries to Covid-19 high-risk list

Public health expert says Britain, France and Spain are facing a second virus wave and he believes crisis will become more severe in Europe as weather cools.

Hong Kong is under pressure to add Covid-19-stricken European nations to its list of high-risk countries under which travellers must prove they are not infected with the coronavirus before boarding flights, as the city’s leader revealed on Tuesday that a review was under way.

France, Spain, Britain and Russia are among the countries that should be added to the list, according to a leading public health expert advising the government on its anti-pandemic strategy.

Five more imported Covid-19 cases were recorded on Tuesday – out of a total of eight confirmed infections. The government also extended social-distancing measures for another week, meaning the public would not be out celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on October 1, in large numbers.

The city has maintained its trend of declining Covid-19 infections in recent weeks, down from more than 100 a day for a spell in July, but the number of imported cases remains alarming.


Children celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay in 2018.


Of the 236 cases confirmed in September to date, 99, or 41 per cent, were imported. But the situation worsened over the past week, with 63 per cent of cases involving returnees from overseas.

They mostly involved those returning from India, the Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan and Britain, while a smaller number of cases were from France, Spain and Russia.

Chinese University’s Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a government health adviser, noted that Britain, France and Spain were facing a second wave of coronavirus infections, adding that he believed the health crisis in Europe would become severe as the weather turned cooler.

Official figures showed Britain was seeing a resurgence of cases but, so far, had not reached the levels seen in March and April, while France and Spain were dealing with a much-feared second wave.

Hui suggested the government review its list of high-risk countries, from which residents returning to the city needed to present proof of negative Covid-19 test results and hotel bookings for not less than 14 days before boarding their flights. Returnees from other locales, meanwhile, simply face a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

Ten countries have been on the high-risk list since July 15.

Hong Kong third wave

Tracking the spread of local Covid-19 cases




“In the past seven days, France has had about 66,000 cases, Spain has around 50,000, while England also has 25,000. The infection figures are not small, so we must pay special attention to these European countries that might have a large outbreak,” Hui said.

He said the government could look at which destinations had an epidemic when deciding upon the list.

“For example, Britain saw a surging number of cases. Perhaps there should be an update on a regular basis, like once a month,” he added.

Speaking ahead of her weekly Executive Council meeting, Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said the Centre for Health Protection was reviewing the list, and would announce when it was ready.

“We believe that imported cases cannot be completely avoided, and we will closely monitor the latest global pandemic development,” she said. “The Centre for Health Protection is now examining whether there are other high-risk areas that need to be added to the list.”

Lam said that although Hong Kong’s third wave of coronavirus infections was gradually receding – with just seven confirmed cases of unknown origin detected in the past week – the city should not let its guard down.

“As I predicted a week ago, it would be difficult to further relax our social-distancing measures in a week’s time,” she said.

Existing curbs, including limiting to four the number of people allowed to eat out together or gather in public, will now remain in place until October 1, the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.

Most leisure venues, such as karaoke lounges, bars and theme parks were allowed to reopen last Friday, subject to conditions to curb the virus’ spread. While Ocean Park immediately reopened last week, Hong Kong Disneyland was set to reopen on Friday, initially for five days a week.

The theme park on Lantau Island would remain shut on Tuesdays and Thursdays until further notice, except for public holidays, and special occasions as designated by the resort. All guests had to book online and make a health declaration in advance.

The extension of social-distancing rules came as health authorities announced the eight new coronavirus cases, including three locally transmitted infections, all of which were from traceable sources.

Among the three local cases were two domestic helpers, aged 23 and 30, who lived in Hung Hom and Tuen Mun, respectively. The other was a 14-year-old girl, who is a family member of a previously known case. They were all sent to hospital from quarantine centres.

The latest figures took the total number of confirmed cases in the city to 5,046, with 103 related deaths.


Meanwhile, a four-year-old boy tested preliminarily positive for Covid-19 after being admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital’s accident and emergency department on Monday. He was in a stable condition in an isolation ward.

The boy, who has a chronic disease, receives regular treatment. He was last treated on Friday in the hospital’s paediatric ward for two hours. He had no respiratory symptoms and was wearing a mask for most of the time, the Hospital Authority said.

Ten children were identified as close contacts and required quarantine measures for 14 days. Another six children would be put under 28-day surveillance. An operational assistant responsible for cleaning the patient’s toilet also had to be quarantined for 14 days for not having a face shield.

In another development, the Department of Health said investigations and testing work were still ongoing in relation to a University of Hong Kong researcher whose infection was announced on Saturday, adding that, so far, no more related positive cases had been identified.

Separately, the city’s public hospitals pledged a multipronged strategy to increase service capacity and reschedule non-emergency and non-essential appointments disrupted by the third wave as infection numbers dwindled. But at the moment, visitation would continue to be suspended.

Dr Ian Cheung Tsz-fung, a Hospital Authority chief manager, said family visitation to inpatients, which was suspended again during the third wave, could resume at the earliest if there were few or no Covid-19 infections of unknown origins for about five to six days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, but he stressed no decision had been made yet.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×