Commuters alight from the train at the Exhibition Centre Station of the East Rail Line on May 16, 2022. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported 10,076 new COVID-19 infections and 11 more deaths on Friday, as health authorities called on members of the public to reduce cross-family gatherings during the long Mid-Autumn Festival weekend.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news briefing that the new infections comprised 9,922 local cases and 154 imported ones.

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For those who will attend large gatherings, it would be a good idea to do a rapid antigen test beforehand.

 Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection

Chuang said 64 of the imported cases were detected at the airport, 53 in quarantine hotels, and 38 at community testing centers. More than 10 cases each came from the United Kingdom, the United States, the Philippines, Thailand and Canada.

She appealed to members of the public to reduce the number of cross-family gatherings during the long weekend of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which lands on Saturday this year.

“For those who will attend large gatherings, it would be a good idea to do a rapid antigen test beforehand,” she said.

Chuang also said that 10 residential care homes for the elderly and persons with disability recorded 11 residents getting infected.

She added that 707 schools reported 1,171 students and 187 teaching staff members testing positive while 22 schools were advised to suspend some classes due to infections.

Eleven new deaths brought the city’s toll to 9,567 during the fifth wave.

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Also speaking at the same press briefing, Larry Lee Lap-yip, chief manager (Integrated Clinical Services) of the Hospital Authority, said the patients who passed away include seven men and four women aged between 50 and 100.

“Five of them had not received any COVID-19 vaccination while seven of them had not yet completed the vaccination course,” Lee said.