He added that about 20 per cent of services at public hospitals would be affected by the decision, including reductions in the number of non-emergency treatments and surgical procedures. Non-coronavirus patients would also experience prolonged waits for medical consultations and check-ups.

“To prevent the pandemic from further worsening and ensure suitable treatments for infected persons, public hospitals will need to pay a not-so-small price and sacrifice a number of their original services,” he said.

“We hope the public will understand that although the conditions of the hospitalised patients are stable, the situation is not as mild as everyone imagines it to be.”

With the adoption of the response plan’s third phase, Lee said he expected the public healthcare system would be able to admit 600 new hospital patients each day, double the amount under the previous measures.

The fourth phase would include designating select hospitals to exclusively treat coronavirus patients, he added.

According to the authority, some 2,139 Covid-19 patients were being treated at public hospitals or facilities managed by the statutory body as of Tuesday, including 310 newly admitted cases.

Among those receiving hospital treatment, 43 and 37 patients were in critical and serious conditions, respectively.

Hong Kong health officials urge care home staff to undergo more PCR testing

Tuesday’s daily virus figure included 244 imported infections. Health officials also reported another 10 deaths, of which only two had received three vaccine doses, with the ages of the fatalities ranging from 69 to 105.

Health authorities also found that Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 accounted for a larger proportion of reported infections, comprising 37.1 per cent of all cases analysed on Saturday. Both viral strains made up 24.5 per cent of last week’s figure.

Subvariant BA.5 had become the more dominant of the two strains in the past seven days, they added.

Hong Kong’s overall tally stands at 1,471,509 cases and 9,620 related fatalities.

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung said he was concerned by the pressure being placed on public hospitals, adding that the “biggest problem” was that many patients had not received Covid-19 jabs or antiviral pills, despite the city having an adequate supply of both.

“Especially for elderly people who are over 80, more than 100,000 of them have never been vaccinated. Many of these people are among the severe cases that have been hospitalised,” he told a radio programme on Tuesday.

Ho added that half of the about 2,000 hospitalised Covid-19 patients had received three vaccine doses and urged elderly residents to get their fourth jab.

“It is because many elderly do not understand that even after three doses, the level of antibodies will drop [over time],” he said, adding that the proportion of patients aged over 60 who were prescribed antiviral pills was also low.

The government also announced that Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee had tested positive for the virus after conducting a rapid antigen screening and was placed in isolation.

Siu had been wearing a mask when he was last at work on Monday and had no recent travel history, it said.

The police force will thoroughly clean and disinfect all relevant offices.

The Security Bureau told the Post that Siu had met Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip on Monday but wore a mask and maintained a social distance from all other participants during the discussion.

The police chief also held an interview with local radio outlet Metro Broadcast on Tuesday morning, a government spokesman said, but it was conducted by phone.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong extended existing social-distancing curbs for another two weeks until September 7. Under the current anti-epidemic measures, catering premises and nightclubs must close by 12am and 2am respectively, while a negative rapid antigen test result obtained within 24 hours is required to enter the city’s night spots.

But authorities from Thursday will allow those issued an amber code and subject to limited freedom of movement as part of Hong Kong’s new healthcode system and “3+4” plan to attend commercial exhibitions and activities, provided they wear masks at all times unless officiating at the event.

Since August 9, confirmed Covid-19 patients are issued a red code via the government’s “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app during their home isolation period, while those returning from overseas or Taiwan receive an amber code as part of their hotel quarantine and subsequent medical surveillance period.

The new scheme was launched to facilitate the “3+4” plan which came into force on August 12, and allows uninfected inbound travellers to undergo three days of quarantine at designated hotels before spending another four under surveillance with limited freedom of movement at home or another hotel.

Hong Kong is easing quarantine rules for arrivals: here’s what you need to know

Arrivals with amber ones can go to school or work but are prohibited from entering venues that require compulsory vaccine pass checks, with the current rules barring travellers from exhibition centres.

Allen Shi Lop-tak, president of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, said he welcomed the government’s decision to allow those issued amber codes to take part in B2B exhibitions and conferences.

“[We] believe the new measure will send a message to the international market that Hong Kong is gradually resuming its ties with the rest of the world, which will consolidate the confidence of multinational corporations and businesses in Hong Kong,” he said.

The association was also looking forward to the further loosening of quarantine restrictions for overseas arrivals, Shi added, including allowing those with amber codes to take part in activities at venues that require vaccine pass checks and visitors to wear masks at all times.

New border channels to help Hong Kong students enter mainland China

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said a 14-day grace period to help premises requiring mandatory vaccine pass checks prepare for new arrangements involving the red and amber health codes ended on Tuesday.

The preparations included updating vaccine pass scanners to the latest version before August 12 and ensuring they were connected to the internet during opening hours by no later than August 23.

It urged the public and venue operators to comply with anti-epidemic regulations, which ban all visitors with red or amber codes from premises that require vaccine pass checks, warning that “stringent enforcement actions” would be taken.

“Patrons holding red or amber codes who did not adhere to the rules applied to them, such as entering catering premises, commit an offence and are subject to a maximum fine of HK$10,000 [US$1,274] or have to discharge their legal liability by paying a fixed penalty of HK$5,000,” a department spokesman said.

“Operators of catering premises must forbid visitors holding red or amber codes from entering the venues. Offenders could be prosecuted and face a fine of up to HK$50,000 and six months’ imprisonment upon conviction.”