The value of Hong Kong’s total exports decreased to $284.1 billion in February, down 0.8% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today. The value of imports of goods fell 1.8% to $325.7 billion for the same period. A trade deficit of $41.7 billion, or 12.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in February. Comparing the three-month period ending February with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 5.5%, while that of imports also increased 3.3%. The Government noted that taking the first two months of the year together to remove the volatility caused by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year, the value of exports posted a 16.6% growth against a very low base of comparison a year ago. Exports to the Mainland and the US rose notably, while those to the European Union fell. Those to other major Asian markets recorded a mixed performance. Looking ahead, the Gove
The Centre for Health Protection today announced it is investigating an additional 55 COVID-19 cases, of which 51 are locally transmitted.
Sixteen of the local cases are untraceable, the centre’s Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said at a press briefing this afternoon.
Dr Chuang pointed out that more than 80 preliminary positive cases have also been detected.
She said: “I understand that quite a few cases are reported from the community testing centre in Yau Ma Tei.
“It is possible that with the compulsory testing, more local residents know about this test and come forward for testing. Hopefully, we can investigate them and stop the spread.
"But of course, the sheer number of cases - so many cases - is a concern because any one of them may cause a major outbreak in the community and a further spread.”
Additionally, Dr Chuang said one of the confirmed local cases is a resident of an elderly care home.
“The elderly person mainly stayed in the home, so we suspect that there may be some silent transmissions in the elderly home.
“Because we have one case, so it’s possible that there may be some other cases later on or that have gone undetected at the moment, so we have put all of them under quarantine in the AsiaWorld-Expo at the present moment.”
For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.
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