Several international flights to Hong Kong have been barred as 23 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the city on Sunday, the highest tally in nearly a month. All but four of the new cases were imported.

Of the 19 imported cases, eight came from India, seven from Nepal, three from the Philippines and one from Sweden, according to the Centre for Health Protection.

The Department of Health announced on Sunday that all Air India flights, as well as all Cathay Dragon flights from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, would be barred from landing in Hong Kong for two weeks until Oct. 3.

The four local infections involved two males and two females from Mong Kok and Shek Kip Mei, aged 12 to 58. They were related to earlier cases. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong to 5,032.

Five passengers on Cathay Dragon KA734 – who traveled on an Air India Express flight from India via Kuala Lumpur – tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival in Hong Kong on Friday.

Cathay Dragon said it would inform affected passengers of the service suspension and arrange refunds or make alternative arrangements. The airline runs three scheduled flights a week between Hong Kong and the Malaysian capital, a key transit point for Hong Kong-bound travelers from India.

Also on Friday, six passengers aboard Air India’s flight AI310 from New Delhi were confirmed to be infected with the virus upon arrival in Hong Kong.

This is the second time in less than a month that Air India flights have been barred from Hong Kong, after a similar suspension in late August.

Newly tightened emergency health regulations stipulate that an airline can be barred from Hong Kong for carrying five or more infected passengers on a flight, or having two consecutive flights with three or more infected passengers.

Dr Leung Chi-chiu, a respiratory medicine expert, warned that nearly 100,000 infections are being recorded in India daily. As long as that situation remains “a bit out of control”, India and other countries such as Nepal and Indonesia that have struggled with epidemic control, will continue to be a source of imported infections for Hong Kong, he warned.

Leung urged the government to consider stricter policies to combat imported cases, such as halting visa applications for domestic helpers or at least mandating agencies to ensure their proper quarantine. Currently that responsibility falls to employers, he noted.

The government could also consider remanding all visitors from high-risk countries at the Penny’s Bay quarantine facility, he added.

Noting the increase in case numbers in parts of Europe and Britain, Leung urged the government to update its list of high-risk countries in order to prevent new imported cases from “seeping” into the community.

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