Hong Kong fourth wave: city confirms 70 new coronavirus cases, Yau Tsim Mong outbreak worsens
- Around half of the 63 locally transmitted cases were in the old, densely populated district
- Remaining seven infections were imported, including three people from Britain who had been in Dubai for a month before flying into city through Singapore
Around half of the 63 locally transmitted cases were in the district, including one in a smaller core area where testing was ordered for residents in all buildings. Sixteen infections were untraceable.
The remaining seven cases were imported, including three people from Britain who had been in Dubai for a month before flying into the city through Singapore. Since December 22, Hong Kong has banned travellers who had been in Britain for a minimum of two hours in the previous 21 days, after a much more transmissible variant of the virus emerged.
More than 40 people tested preliminary-positive, awaiting confirmation.
Two scientific committees advised the government to prioritise Covid-19 vaccinations for four high-risk groups: residents and staff of residential care homes for the elderly and the disabled; health care workers; people aged 60 or above; and chronically ill patients aged between 16 and 59.
The city’s overall tally of cases stood at 9,867, with 167 related deaths. The latest fatality was a 74-year-old woman with a chronic illness who died in Caritas Medical Centre on Thursday afternoon.