Hong Kong to Lock Down District in Kowloon, SCMP Reports

HONG KONG, CHINA - JANUARY 20: Residents of a neighbourhood register for COVID-19 tests at a temporary testing site where COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the Jordan district on January 20, 2021 in Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong issues an isolation order for entire residential blocks for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began as the number of cases continued to climb with mandatory testing of residents in over 70 buildings. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong for the first time will lock down tens of thousands of residents in a bid to contain a worsening outbreak of the coronavirus, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people.

The lockdown is expected to begin this weekend in Yau Tsim Mong, the core urban district of Kowloon.

Despite almost two months of social distancing, the city’s infection curve appears to be ticking back up after mass testing was conducted among some housing estates. While Hong Kong’s coronavirus cases haven’t risen drastically compared to global cities such as London and New York, strict social-distancing rules like the closure of schools and some businesses are in place.