Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s single-day record of 48 new cases signals full onslaught to come
- Surge in confirmed cases takes city total to 256 and serves as stark reminder that imported and community infections could overwhelm Hong Kong
- Most new patients have returned from overseas amid bleak warnings from health experts fearing tsunami of fresh infections in days ahead
Hong Kong confirmed 48 new coronavirus cases on Friday, by far the biggest daily increase and a stark reminder that the city was facing the real risk of an overwhelming surge of imported as well as community-spread infections.
Most of the new patients had a recent history of travel, many having returned from hard-hit Europe, prompting dire warnings from health experts fearing an explosion of infections over the next couple of weeks.
With the city’s infection tally now at 256, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s (CHP) communicable disease branch, warned of a further surge in the coming days.
“As some of the cases had travel history a few days before … with the incoming number of residents returning to Hong Kong, we may see a high number of cases for at least two weeks or more,” she said.
Experts ramped up their warnings after weeks of reminding the city against complacency as Hong Kong appeared to make significant progress bringing infections under control.
“This is the worst time to relax because we’re at the highest risk since this began,” said Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical faculty and a member of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s expert panel on the pandemic.