People wearing face masks walk in Tsuen Wan, south China's Hong Kong, March 10, 2022. (LO PING FAI / XINHUA)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s health authorities on Thursday reported 9,219 new coronavirus infections and 13 related deaths.
In a sudden jump after hovering around 8,000 cases over the last few days, the total number of cases exceeded the 9,000 mark, the most in more than two months
In a sudden jump after hovering around 8,000 cases over the last few days, the total number of cases exceeded the 9,000 mark, the most in more than two months.
Of the new cases, 8,500 were locally transmitted and the rest imported, according to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health.
Among the imported infections, 381 were identified at the Hong Kong International Airport, 262 from days 1 to 3 of their arrival, and the remaining 76 during days 4-7.
As of Thursday, the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch (PHLSB) identified 224 cases of sub-lineage XBB, six of XBD, eight of BA.2.75.2, seven of BA.4.6, 12 of BF.7 and 34 of BQ.1.1 among the imported cases.
Seventy-two cases of sub-lineage XBB, 16 of XBD, one of BA.2.75.2, two of BF.7 and 78 of BQ.1.1 were also detected among the local cases.
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Among the specimens received by the PHLSB during Nov 15 to 21 for verification testing of local cases, 77.1 percent of them (seven-day moving average) were related to the BA.4 or BA.5 (including suspected cases) subvariant, said the CHP
So far, 10,434 COVID patients have passed away in the city during the fifth wave, or 10,647 since the pandemic started here, the CHP added.