Hong Kong reported its first death attributed to Covid-19 on February 4 and has since reported just three more. Hong Kong has taken a swift approach to address the pandemic threat but has not imposed a population lockdown. A group of Hong Kong–based researchers reported in a study published by the Lancet that public health actions were taken by the Hong Kong government, including stringent border controls and quarantine systems, heavy surveillance, school closures, and work-from-home efforts were associated with the region’s remarkably low transmission rate. Researchers also cited widespread adherence to preventive behaviors, such as wearing masks. According to the study, Hong Kong closed its “leisure venues” and placed capacity limits on restaurants in late March. Residents were forbidden from gathering in groups larger than four in public, a rule that has recently been relaxed to eight.
Time Magazine reported that more than 200 arrests were made over the weekend for social distancing violations. Pro-democracy leaders alleged that Hong Kong police were targeting protesters.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/04/802533379/first-death-in-hong-kong-from-coronavirus
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01248-1
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468266720300906?via%3Dihub
https://time.com/5835103/hong-kong-protesters-coronavirus-restrictions/