A health expert advising the government on its COVID-19 response says Hong Kong’s fourth wave, which has plagued the city since late November, is nearing its end.
Authorities reported no unlinked cases for the first time in about four months on Thursday.
“If this situation [of no untraceable cases] continues for another seven or 10 days, then we could really lift more restrictions, such as allowing more people to go to church and loosening dining restrictions from four to six people per table,” David Hui, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said on a Friday morning radio program.
The fourth wave, triggered by an outbreak at dance venues, began with a surge in cases late November.
More than 5,700 infections have been reported since Nov. 24, when the government announced the closure of bars and a wider ban on live performances and dancing in meeting rooms and clubhouses—meaning infections during the fourth wave account for almost half of the city’s cases to date.
During the prolonged outbreak, restrictions were tightened on public gatherings and restaurants were forced to cease dine-in services at 6pm.
The wave also saw the city’s first COVID-19 lockdown in January, a measure authorities have since taken dozens of times to impose mandatory virus testing on residents in buildings with confirmed cases.
Read more: Meet the ethnic minority language interpreters behind Hong Kong’s first COVID lockdown
Hui’s comments came as Hong Kong reported 11 new cases on Friday, just three of which are local. Among them, one is an unlinked infection.
The Education Bureau announced that the city would gradually resume face-to-face teaching after Easter, allowing not more than two-thirds of students in a class to return to school on a half-day basis.
