Hong Kong officials imposed a strict 48-hour blockade on Saturday, forcing thousands of residents to stay in their homes as the city’s coronavirus outbreak worsened.
Authorities made the unprecedented move in the city’s Yau Tsim Mong district, focusing on 16 apartment buildings where no residents will be able to leave unless tested for the virus, the Associated Press reported.
Hong Kong was hit with a second outbreak of coronavirus in November. More than 4,300 cases have been registered in the last two months, representing almost 40% of the total number of cases in the city. So far, officials have tried to avoid strict blockades in the crowded city.
Coronavirus cases in Yau Tsim Mong District account for about half of last week’s infections.
So far, about 3,000 people in Yau Tsim Mong District have been tested for coronavirus, joining the city’s other 7.5 million who have been tested in recent days.