World News | Hong Kong Shuts Schools as New Virus Cases Increase

Hong Kong, Jul 10 (AP) Hong Kong's government on Friday said it is suspending classes for students following a rise in coronavirus cases.

Officials in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory reported 42 new cases on Thursday, 34 of them locally transmitted.

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Most of the new cases were related to known clusters, including an elderly home and several restaurants.

Hong Kong has reported 1,365 cases with seven deaths since the pandemic began.

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The increase in new cases prompted the government to tighten social-distancing measures. Kindergarten, primary and secondary schools will be closed until further notice, according to the education department.

The region's Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung told reporters his department was trying to “balance the safety of the students as well as the educational needs of the students."

Some schools would be allowed to proceed with exams while enforcing mask wearing, hand washing and maintenance of social distancing, Yeung said.

Beyond schools, from Saturday, restaurants will only be allowed to operate at 60% of their seating capacity, with a maximum of eight people per table, while bars and nightclubs can only have up to four people per table.

Fitness centers and karaoke bars will be limited to eight patrons at any given time.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)