Hong Kong Records Its Biggest Rise in Coronavirus Cases as New Wave of Infections Crashes Into Asia

Hong Kong recorded what is by far its biggest daily jump in coronavirus cases on Friday—the latest in a new phase of infected travelers, many of whom are returning to the city from Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia. The city is not alone in facing the increasing threat of imported cases. Taiwan, which also saw a daily record increase in the number of new cases, reported 27 additional infections on Friday—most of which are travel-related. In Singapore, 24 out of 32 newly infected patients had a history of travel to Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. All three places managed to fend off the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, when it was spreading across mainland China—despite having close economic ties and a large number of travelers from the mainland. The new wave is crashing across the region as the number of officially reported new cases in the mainland has dropped to just a handful. On Thursday, Chinese officials reported zero new domestic coronavirus infections. Read more: What We Can Learn From Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong About Handling Coronavirus In Hong Kong, 36 of the 48 COVID-19 cases reported Friday had overseas travel records, Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection, said during an afternoon press conference. The cases involve travel to over a dozen countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Austria, Portugal, United Kingdom, Canada and the Un...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 News Desk overnight Source Type: news