Coronavirus: Hong Kong confirms 4,285 new cases, another 7,000 preliminary infections identified as 10 deaths mark new daily record

Officials have reiterated that daily confirmed case counts no longer reflect the full extent of the situation due to a backlog of test samples

Even without Wednesday’s cases, the city’s surging fifth wave has already accounted for more confirmed infections than all previous waves combined

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Covid-19 patients wait in a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 11:39am, 16 Feb 2022Updated: 12:27am, 17 Feb 2022

Hong Kong hit another daily Covid-19 record on Wednesday, confirming 4,285 new cases, with 7,000 more preliminary-positive infections identified, while the death of a three-year-old girl, the city’s youngest coronavirus fatality, was related to acute brain inflammation, sources said.

Even without Wednesday’s figure, the city’s surging fifth wave of infections had already accounted for 14,020 confirmed cases since it began in late December – far more than the 12,650 recorded during the entire pandemic before that point.

The Centre for Health Protection said all but 21 of Wednesday’s cases were locally transmitted, with the city’s tally of confirmed infections rising to 30,955.

The Hospital Authority reported 10 more coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, including a three-year-old girl at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kai Tak, the city’s youngest fatality so far.

Eight others who died were elderly patients, ranging in age from 72 to 100, while a 37-year-old man also succumbed on Wednesday morning, taking the city’s death toll to 235.

Sixteen patients, all above age 45 and mostly unvaccinated, remained in a critical condition.

Twenty care facilities for the elderly reported cases, while 120 authority workers were confirmed as infected – another record high after 103 infections on Tuesday.