Hong Kong is a big draw for expats with its openness and diversity. (ZHANG WEI / CHINA NEWS SERVICE)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong recorded 2,992 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 219 imported infections, bringing the city’s tally during the fifth wave to 1,258,423.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the local cases comprised 1,194 infections confirmed through nucleic acid tests and 1,579 by rapid antigen testing. She added that the number of cases was expected to go up.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the local cases comprised 1,194 infections confirmed through nucleic acid tests and 1,579 by rapid antigen testing. She added that the number of cases was expected to go up
“We will continue to monitor the situation. The projection is actually on the basis of the trend over the past week or so. It is likely to go up,” Chuang said.
“If people exercise caution..venture out less, the increase will be less drastic,” she added.
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Chuang said two new deaths involving COVID-19 patients were reported, bringing the city’s toll during the fifth wave to 9,199.
The imported infections included 58 cases from the United Kingdom, 22 from the United States, 21 from India, 16 from Singapore, and 13 from Thailand, Chuang said.
She said 115 were detected at the airport, 83 in quarantine hotels, and 21 after their quarantine.
One residential care home reported four cases while a special school in Tai Po had one infection, Chuang said.
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She also said that 46 infections of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1, including 34 that were untraceable, were found while nine suspected BA.4 or BA.5 cases were detected.
Gladys Kwan, Chief Manager (Clinical Effectiveness and Technology Management) of the Hospital Authority, said the two new deaths involved a 70-year-old man and an 85-year-old women who both had a history of chronic diseases.
The male patient had kidney cancer and was under palliative care before he passed away on July 7 while the female patient had diabetes and hypertension.
Kwan added that 924 COVID-19 patients were being treated in public hospitals as of Sunday, including 134 new patients.
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Meanwhile, Commissioner of Customs and Excise Louise Ho Pui-shan is undergoing quarantine after one of her colleagues tested preliminarily positive for the virus, according to a government statement.
Ho has taken COVID-19 rapid antigen tests regularly, including one on Sunday, which showed negative negative results, it added.