HK delays legislative election over virus

Hong Kong's 2020 Legislative Council General Election will be delayed a year, to Sept 5, 2021, in view of the health risks posed by the current severe outbreak of COVID-19, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Friday.

In announcing what she called "the hardest decision" she's had to make over seven months of combating the coronavirus, Lam stressed it was necessary to protect public health and ensure the fairness of the election.

The announcement at a news conference came on the same day the city recorded 10 consecutive daily reports of COVID-19 infections surpassing 100 cases, bringing the total to 3,272. Over half of the tally was reported between July 8 and Thursday, which is more than 1.4 times the 1,300 cases reported for the first six months.