June 8, 2022
HONG KONG – Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday that existing social distancing measures, including border control restrictions, will remain unchanged until the end of this month when her term ends after a recent rise in COVID-19 infections.
For the time being, it is a bit too early to say that we are now confronting a sixth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, because it needs a lot more indicators in order to confirm the situation.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong Chief Executive
Speaking to reporters ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam described the current COVID-19 situation as “concerning,” as the daily caseload in the financial hub has risen to around 500 in recent days, up from around 200 to 300 in the past month.
But she said it is too early to say if Hong Kong is heading towards the sixth wave of infection.
“For the time being, it is a bit too early to say that we are now confronting a sixth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, because it needs a lot more indicators in order to confirm the situation,” she said.
She added that she is convening a meeting with experts later on Tuesday on what other measures the government should adopt to fight the virus.
The CE also said that all people who report positive results through the online system will now be required to undergo a PCR test to confirm their infection after a surge in false-positive cases.
The ratio of false-positive cases have increased to as high as 30 percent in June, after the third phase of the vaccine pass came into effect on May 31.
The government suspected that some members of the public may have reported dated or false test results in order to receive the recovery record QR code for meeting the vaccine pass requirement.
So far, the Centre for Health Protection has found six persons suspected of deliberately providing false information and they were referred to the police for follow-up.