- Only six of the newly infected are local transmissions, with one linked to a karaoke lounge in Causeway Bay
- Leading microbiologist calls for government to make mask-wearing in public compulsory
Five Hong Kong residents flown back from Peru on a government-chartered flight are among 24 new coronavirus infections recorded on Monday, taking the city's total to 914.
Only six of the new cases were local transmissions, with one linked to a karaoke lounge in Causeway Bay, which closed last week when authorities widened their shutdown order to cover most entertainment venues.
With the help of the government, more than 60 residents who had been stranded in Peru arrived home on Sunday and were immediately sent for testing at AsiaWorld-Expo. Three of the five confirmed infected belonged to a tour group organised by Morning Star Travel, according to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection.
Virologist says wide-scale testing needed for true Hong Kong virus tally
A dozen others in the group plus a tour guide would be sent to quarantine centres, Chuang said.
The remaining two residents returned from Peru were boyfriend and girlfriend, she said. The other passengers on the flight had not come into close contact with the infected and would be isolated at home.
The repatriation was organised after an infected 64-year-old Hong Kong resident died in the southeast of the South American country late last month.
Eighteen of the new cases had a history of recent travel, with Britain, Japan, Argentina and Nigeria among the countries involved.
The case tied to the karaoke lounge involved a man who works at a supermarket at the Windsor House shopping mall in Causeway Bay. He attended a farewell party at the nearby CEO Neway karaoke lounge for a colleague two week ago. His wife tested positive earlier.
Previously, seven people were confirmed infected after visiting a karaoke lounge run by RedMR in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Hong Kong's daily toll fell over the weekend " to 17 on Saturday and 28 on Sunday " after a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks fuelled by people returning to the city from overseas.
The highest number recorded in a single day in Hong Kong was 65 on March 27.
On Monday, leading microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung, from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), urged the government to make mask-wearing compulsory in public and step up social-distancing measures.
Ho said surgical masks, much sought-after in the city but the subject of debate abroad over their effectiveness, would help prevent asymptomatic patients from spreading the virus.
His remarks came a day after HKU infectious disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung warned of a third wave of infections as mainland Chinese gradually returned to Hong Kong, and senior government adviser Bernard Chan raised the possibility of the city going into a strict lockdown.
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