All Hong Kong schools will be closed again after a new surge in COVID-19 cases, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported on Friday, citing a medical source. According to the source, nearly 30 more people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus disease, 11 of whom lived at the Shui Chuen O Estate residential compound in the town of Sha Tin.

The date of the suspension is expected to be announced later on Friday. The surge in cases took place ahead of the annual Hong Kong Book Fair, which set to begin next week. While some city officials are calling for the event's cancellation, the Hong Kong health minister insists on holding the fair with social-distancing measures in place.

"The most ideal decision, I believe, should be cancelling this year's book fair," Chinese University's David Hui Shu-cheong said as cited by the media outlet, adding that "if anyone from the fair [including visitors or booksellers] got infected, a lot of contact tracing will be needed, which is a big problem.

" Hong Kong has so far confirmed 1,366 COVID-19 cases, seven deaths and 1,176 recoveries.