Hong Kong fourth wave: easing Covid-19 rules could lead to rebound, health officials warn; experts reassess vaccination roll-out
- City faces a possible delay in vaccination drive amid concern over side effects of Pfizer-BioNTech jab, following reports of 23 deaths in Norway
- Hong Kong confirms 50 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, as health authorities warn transmission rate of the virus seems to be increasing
Health experts said they would not rule out pushing back the coming inoculation campaign amid concern over side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, following reports of deaths in Norway, as Hong Kong confirmed 50 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday.
Officials also cautioned that while the daily caseload had been hovering between 25 and 60 this month, the transmission rate of the virus seemed to be increasing.
The warning came as the global death toll for Covid-19 passed the 2 million mark.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said: “The figures are still up and down and we have not observed a definite downward trend in the recent one or two weeks. Any relaxation in the [social-distancing] measures, and if the general public does not have vigilance in keeping all these measures, the numbers may rebound.”
She said transmission of the virus seemed to have quickened. “In the past only close contacts were infected, but now we also see transmission at workplaces or among people who didn’t have much contact.”