Coronavirus: Hong Kong daily Covid caseloads peaked in early March, health officials say, but latest deaths push toll past 3,000
- Health official says daily caseload detected through PCR tests peaked between March 2 and 4, with more than 50,000 infections per day
- Hospital Authority records 180 coronavirus-related fatalities in the past 24 hours, involving patients aged between 47 and 112
While health officials hailed the “positive” development and noted people’s efforts in battling the virus, deaths continued to rise, mostly among unvaccinated elderly residents, with the latest fatalities from Covid-19 complications pushing the overall toll past 3,000.
But occupancy at the city’s isolation facilities remains low. Security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung said that at the 23 community isolation facilities managed by his bureau, accounting for about 18,800 rooms or beds, the rate was at more than 40 per cent.
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He warned residents that refusing to go to an isolation centre could result in a HK$5,000 (US$639) fine and two months’ imprisonment, while those who left such facilities while under quarantine could be fined HK$5,000 and faced six months behind bars.
Of the latest infections, 7,012 were logged through a new online portal for positive rapid antigen test (RAT) results, which were added to the 24,390 detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Ten cases were imported, bringing the number to 31,402 infections on Thursday.
The city’s overall tally of cases stood at 617,419.
Dr Albert Au Ka-wing of the Centre for Health Protection said daily caseloads found through PCR tests peaked between March 2 and 4, with more than 50,000 infections per day, and started to drop and stabilise afterwards. In terms of RAT screening, the caseload was around 10,000 per day.