Hong Kong health experts warn numbers will not be falling any time soon as city reports 26,908 Covid-19 cases and 286 deaths
- Professor Lau Yu-lung, who chairs government committee on vaccines, says infections have plateaued and will remain steady for three to six weeks
- Kwok Kin-on, assistant professor at Chinese University’s School of Public Health, estimates roughly 5 million residents will be infected by June
A total of 14,868 cases were logged through a new online government portal by residents using at-home rapid antigen tests, in addition to 12,040 confirmed through polymerase chain reaction screenings, bringing the daily total to 26,908.
Hong Kong’s overall Covid-19 tally stood at 733,785, including 721,154 cases logged during the fifth wave, or 98 per cent of the total.
Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority reported a record 249 coronavirus-related fatalities in the past 24 hours, involving patients aged between 39 and 105. Of those, 165 had no vaccination records, 41 had received one dose, 39 had two and four had three.
Another 37 people, aged 64 to 106, died earlier but were only reported on Monday due to a backlog. The number of Covid-related fatalities stood at 4,279.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection urged the public to remain vigilant and avoid going out as much as possible.
“The case numbers are still high … if we are not careful and the flow of people is high and everyone relaxes, then there is a chance the caseload will rebound,” she said.