8th November 2020 – (Hong Kong) The global COVID-19 pandemic is becoming more severe, and imported cases are recorded in Hong Kong almost every day. The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr.Sophia Chan published a blog this morning (8th), claiming to have further effectively impeded imported cases. The Department of Health has activated the “fuse mechanism” 7 times to prohibit aircraft with multiple confirmed cases from landing in Hong Kong, including routes between Hong Kong and India, Nepal and Malaysia. Chan said that the number of new cases of the global epidemic increased from 70,000 to 100,000 daily from the end of March to mid-May, to about 160,000 to 180,000 daily at the end of June, and to 220,000 to 220,000 daily at the end of July. Cases in October rose by 290,000 cases to a new high of 550,000 cases per day. At present, there are more than 47 million confirmed cases worldwide, and the death toll is close to 1.2 million. The epidemic situation in America and Europe is particularly severe.
Chan also said that generally speaking, all non-Hong Kong residents cannot enter Hong Kong. As early as 15th September, the government has implemented a “fuse mechanism” whereby if there are 5 or more passengers on a flight who are diagnosed after arriving in Hong Kong, or if two consecutive passenger planes arrive at Hong Kong from the same location with 3 infected passengers on each flight, the flight will be banned for 14 days. The Department of Health has activated the relevant mechanism seven times in the past prohibiting flights from India, Nepal and Malaysia from landing in Hong Kong. It is hoped that multiple border control measures will prevent imported cases from entering the local community.