Hong Kong offering payments to residents who test positive for COVID-19 amid rise in cases

Hong Kong residents who test positive for COVID-19 will be given $645, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Sunday, as a way to encourage people to get tested.

Bloomberg also reported that Hong Kong will be imposing new restrictions, including scrapping plans for a travel bubble between the city and Singapore. Hong Kong also ordered its first compulsory testing order, targeting people who were at 14 dance centers this past month believed to be linked to coronavirus clusters, according to the news outlet.

Chan also reportedly said in a radio interview that the government would be setting up five community testing centers, bringing the total up to nine

The developments come as the city reports a rising number of coronavirus cases, recording 68 cases on Sunday, the most it has seen in three months. Most of the cases were considered to be locally transmitted, with only 7 without immediately identifiable sources.

Hong Kong has so far reported 5,561 cases and 108 deaths, Reuters reports.

The past month has been rife with chaos due to both the pandemic and the ongoing pro-democracy protests. Earlier in November, pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong resigned en-masse following the dismissal of four of their colleagues due to a new Chinese law that allowed for their termination.

Last week, three former pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested after disrupting legislative meetings during the summer.