A man looks out onto Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on July 22, 2022.
(ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong will expand the use of oral COVID-19 drugs to high-risk patients under the age of 60 regardless of their vaccination status as the city recorded 4,884 new cases on Friday.

Gladys Kwan, Chief Manager (Clinical Effectiveness and Technology Management) of the Hospital Authority, said in a news briefing, that starting Aug 1, two COVID-19 oral drugs will be applicable to symptomatic patients aged below 60 with chronic illness. Currently, patients under 60 will be prescribed the drugs only if they are high-risk and have not completed the vaccination course.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the new cases on Friday comprised 4,696 local infections and 188 imported cases

The two oral drugs are Molnupiravir manufactured by Merck Sharp and Dohme, as well as Paxlovid manufactured by Pfizer.

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"Apart from public hospitals and seven designated COVID-19 clinics, private doctors and private hospitals will also prescribe the drugs to suitable patients," Kwan said. She called on members of the public who develop symptoms to seek treatment as soon as possible. 

Kwan said 1,411 COVID patients were being treated in public hospitals as of Friday, including 179 new patients. Twenty were in critical condition, including 10 in intensive care, and 18 in serious condition.

Kwan added that five patients passed away, bringing the city’s toll during the fifth wave of infections to 9,275. They included four men and one woman aged 55 to 88 years old. They had also suffered from chronic diseases like hypertension, lung cancer and liver cancer. 

The deaths of two of the patients — a 61-year-old man who collapsed at home and a 55-year-old woman who had fallen from height — have been referred to the coroner, Kwan added.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said at the same briefing that the new cases on Friday comprised 4,696 local infections and 188 imported cases.

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She said the imported cases included 30 from the United Kingdom, 17 from the Philippines, 16 from India, 15 each from Singapore and Australia, and 14 from the United States.