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Coronavirus Hong Kong
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Explainer | Why is Hong Kong’s coronavirus death rate so high? Breaking down fatalities by age and vaccination status

  • City’s most recent seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 deaths per 1 million people stands at 13.85, still topping the global chart
  • Leader Carrie Lam says fatality rate among confirmed cases might be lower than official record due to undetected infections

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Hong Kong’s most recent seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 deaths per 1 million people stands at 13.85, still topping the global chart. Photo: Jelly Tse
Elizabeth Cheung
Hong Kong reported more than 200 coronavirus-related deaths per day at the height of its fifth Covid-19 wave in March, pushing the city’s fatality rate per 1 million people to one of the highest in the world. This prompted officials to work with mainland Chinese experts to put in place more measures to control the pandemic, including an effort to boost the inoculation rate.
Here, the Post analyses the latest fatality rate and compares the effectiveness of the different vaccines in preventing deaths.
Covid-19 patients at Caritas Medical Centre at Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Dickson Lee
Covid-19 patients at Caritas Medical Centre at Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Dickson Lee

1. How deadly is Covid-19 in Hong Kong?

The fatality rate among local infections recorded during the fifth wave, which began on December 31 last year, was 0.71 per cent.

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The figure refers to the proportion of deaths among identified confirmed cases. It is lower than the rate in many places. For example, in the Philippines, the number is as high as 9.92 per cent, which ranks at the top in a worldwide list, according to online database Our World in Data.

But the city’s most recent seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 deaths per 1 million people stands at 13.85, still topping the global chart.

More than 95 per cent of coronavirus-related deaths in the city’s fifth wave have involved elderly people aged 60 or above, according to government data. Photo: Jelly Tse
More than 95 per cent of coronavirus-related deaths in the city’s fifth wave have involved elderly people aged 60 or above, according to government data. Photo: Jelly Tse

2. Does the case fatality rate reflect the actual situation?

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