A woman sits by the seaside in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong on June 26, 2022. (CHINADAILYHK.COM)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s daily COVID-19 cases topped 10,000 again on Saturday, logging 10,426 fresh infections, as a health official said infections have not peaked yet.

Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised10,222 local cases and 204 imported ones.

The daily COVID caseload in the financial hub passed the 10,000 mark on Thursday for the first time since March 25 as cases linked to the Omicron subvariants BA.4 or BA.5 continued to increase and accounted for 60 percent of new infections.  

Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised10,222 local cases and 204 imported ones

The city reported a slight drop in new cases on Friday, logging 9,901 infections.

Of the 204 imported cases reported on Saturday, 65 were detected at the airport, 61 at quarantine hotels or centers, and 44 in the community. Thirty-three cases came from the United Kingdom, 24 from Thailand, 21 from the United States and 19 from the Philippines.

The BA.5 strain accounted for 55.5 percent of new cases while the previously dominant strain BA2.2 was linked to 31.3 percent. BA.4 cases accounted for 7.57 percent and BA.2.12.1 had 5.6 percent, according to Au.

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Au said there is a rising trend in COVID cases in Hong Kong and the city is expected to see more local cases in the near future. He called on members of the public to complete their vaccination course as soon as possible.

“We find that some people have been waiting for the new generation of Omicron vaccine and delaying their next COVID jab,” Au said. “The current COVID jab has proven effective in preventing infection with the Omicron subvariant or severe illness and there is no need to wait for the next generation of the vaccine.” 

Seven more COVID patients passed away, bringing the toll in the fifth wave to 9,503.