Hong Kong ponders lockdown amid latest coronavirus outbreak

Once named in the same breath as Taiwan and Singapore as an early example of successful virus control, Hong Kong is now in the midst of a worsening outbreak of the coronavirus, with no sign of it slowing down. Hong Kong residents had been living with reduced pandemic-related restrictions in recent months. But in the past two weeks the region has recorded more than 500 new cases, over 400 of them local. About 40% have an unknown source and the majority are not imported – a stark inverse in the proportions seen the last time Hong Kong experienced a sudden rise in cases. On Monday, more than a third of the 73 new cases reported came from an unknown source. It followed a record 108 new cases – 83 local transmissions – reported by the centre for health protection on Saturday.