A child (center) plays with bubbles next to Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on April 7, 2022. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong recorded 4,375 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as health authorities said the city's vaccination drive and previous infections helped slow down the increase in cases.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said in a news briefing that the new cases included 299 imported infections and 4,076 local cases. Three patients died, bringing the city's toll to 9,238.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the increase in cases remained gradual, unlike in February and March, due to the government’s vaccination drive and since many residents had also been infected in previous waves
Chuang said the increase in cases remained gradual, unlike in February and March, due to the government’s inoculation campaign and since many residents had also been infected in previous waves.
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“It’s not as rapid as the previous wave due to the wider inoculation coverage and we also have quite a large number of the population having been infected. This could help in curbing transmission,” she added.
But Chuang reminded members of the public not to be complacent, noting that immunity levels could drop with the passage of time. She also called on the elderly to get vaccinated.
“According to the World Health Organization, if a large population has been inoculated and with a large number of people infected, you can have hybrid immunity. But with a lapse of time, even if you have been jabbed or infected, your immune level could drop so there’s still a certain level of transmission,” she said.
Chuang said health authorities will step up the issuance of community testing notices to cut transmission chains, particularly in residential buildings.
“It is hoped we can identify cases early and curb transmission chains to lower the risk of serious cases and deaths,” she said.
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Of the 299 imported cases, Chuang said 140 were detected at the airport, 113 at quarantine hotels and 46 after they had finished their quarantine.
She added that 72 came from the United Kingdom, 19 from the United States, and 12 each from Germany and the Philippines.
Chuang also said that 355 schools reported 414 cases, involving 330 students and 84 staff members. Two classes in two schools were suspended after one had two cases while the other had three.
Larry Lee Lap-yip, chief manager (Integrated Clinical Services) of the Hospital Authority, also said at the same briefing that one male and two female patients, aged 93 to 99, passed away. They also had chronic diseases like dementia, lung disease, and atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that causes an irregular heart rate.
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Lee said 1,233 patients were being treated as of Thursday in public hospitals, including 163 new patients.
Eighteen of them were in critical condition, including five receiving intensive care, and 25 in serious condition, he added.
Elderly care homes
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is preparing to step up COVID-19 testing at elderly care homes, which is a focus of the local coronavirus control efforts, an official said.
Chris Sun, secretary for labor and welfare of the HKSAR government, said he will explain to the sector later this week details of the related plan, which has a clear goal to strengthen testing and further make the elderly care homes more capable of preventing outbreaks.
It is very important to better protect the senior residents, especially those living in elderly care homes, during the epidemic, and raising the vaccination rate and boosting tests are two of the major priorities, according to Sun.
With Xinhua inputs