HK records 1 imported virus case, tally at 1,040

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported one imported COVID-19 case on Monday, ending a two-day run of no new cases and bringing the city's tally to 1,040.

The latest patient is a 27-year-old woman who returned from the United States on Monday morning. She tested positive for the coronavirus at the temporary testing center at AsiaWorld-Expo upon arrival.

The woman had developed symptoms in the US in mid-April but did not show any signs of the disease when she returned, according to the Centre of Health Protection.

Hong Kong recorded its last locally infected case 15 days ago. Ho Pak-leung, head of the Centre for Infection at the University of Hong Kong, said this is an encouraging result of months-long anti-epidemic efforts.

Speaking on a radio program on Monday, the top microbiologist also called for an end to the citywide ban on public gatherings of more than four people at a time if no local cases are reported for 28 consecutive days — a development that would signal a breakdown of the local transmission chain.

Hong Kong has recorded no new cases in seven of the past nine days. Most social distancing measures in the city are due to expire on Thursday, with the government discussing a relaxation of some of the measures, according to local media reports.

David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said leisure venues such as cinemas, beauty salons and gyms can be gradually reopened with precautions in place, but bars and karaoke lounges, which are considered higher-risk venues, should be the last businesses to resume operations.

A government limit on the number of diners at a table could be raised from the current cap of four people to eight, said Hui, who has advised on the administration's anti-epidemic efforts. He added that restaurants should still keep tables 1.5 meters apart or separated by shields.

The Hospital Authority said on Monday another 21 COVID-19 patients had been discharged from hospitals, taking the total of recovered patients to 899.