In this picture taken on May 13, 2022, people cross a street in Hong Kong. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported 234 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, as the number of cases linked to a Kwun Tong eatery rose to 11.
The new cases comprised 192 local infections and 42 imported cases, Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said in a press briefing.
The new cases comprised 192 local infections and 42 imported cases, Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said in a press briefing
He said 113 cases were confirmed through nucleic acid tests and 121 by rapid antigen tests.
Since the onset of the fifth wave of the pandemic, 1,196,109 people have contracted the virus in the city, involving 9,148 deaths. Monday's figure is lower the the 259 infections reported on Sunday.
“We have not seen any sign of a rebound but 200 to 300 cases a day is quite high,” Au said, noting that the recent daily figure of 200 to 300 cases was still “double” the number of infections recorded during the peak of previous waves.
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He said 29 students and six staff members from 31 schools also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Some schools had two cases but their infections were not linked. But in one special school, two teaching staff members got infected after they had meals together with their masks off.
“So, these are linked. We’ve arranged for other staff members to stay at home for quarantine,” Au said.
Au also said that the cluster at the Imperial Kitchen restaurant in Kwun Tong had two more cases involving two patrons, bring the total number of infections in the cluster to 11.
“All of them denied that they went there to eat. They said they picked up take-away food or had a business meeting,” Au said, adding that 40 patrons have so far been identified.
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The CHP took 22 environmental samples from the restaurant but they were all negative, Au said.
Au said the Sky Cuisine restaurant cluster in Sheung Wan also had four new cases, bringing its total to 57. Three environmental samples taken from the third floor, a ventilation vent, and dish lift also tested positive for the virus.
He added that a new case linked to a Hung Hom billiards center cluster was detected while a sample taken from a billiard table there also tested positive.
Lau Ka-hin, chief manager (quality and standards) of the Hospital Authority, said in the same briefing that 748 patients were being treated in public hospitals, the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, and the AsiaWorld-Expo community treatment center.
There was one new critical patient while two other critical patients were in intensive care units, he added.
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Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced on Monday that it will accept the COVID-19 vaccination records issued by Ecuador, Kenya, Seychelles, and Venezuela as recognized records for persons arriving in Hong Kong effective Wednesday.
The government also reminded those traveling to Hong Kong that the COVID-19 testing certificates under the EU Digital COVID Certificate mechanism can serve as a documentary proof for pre-boarding nucleic acid tests.
The HKSAR government has implemented stringent inbound prevention and control measures for persons arriving in Hong Kong from overseas.
With Xinhua inputs