Hong Kong may extend virus measures as two dozen officials have been sent to quarantine after attending party

Customers wearing face masks get takeaway dinner from a restaurant following tighter restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Hong Kong, China January 7, 2022. - Reuters

HONG KONG, Jan 8 (Bloomberg): Hong Kong may need to extend its latest round of virus-control curbs by another week if the community spread of omicron cases can’t be contained in time, David Hui, a respiratory medicine professor and member of the city’s Covid advisory panel, said on a radio programme on Saturday.

Officials on Wednesday imposed two weeks of new measures including banning dining-in after 6pm, shutting venues such as bars and gyms and halting flights from eight countries including the US and UK.

An extension of the policy could further threaten the city’s retail and consumer industries before the Lunar New Year in early February, traditionally a peak spending season.