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

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.

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About 17 per cent of new confirmed cases in the past two weeks were paediatric patients – defined as those under 17 – of which 9 per cent were aged six or below, according to official figures.

The explosion of cases has stretched the city’s health care system to the limit, and as of Tuesday, about 12,000 residents who had tested positive were still waiting to be admitted to hospitals or isolation facilities, a source said.

Dr Sara Ho Yuen-ha, a chief manager at the authority, said: “We observe that some patients are waiting outdoors, this is far from satisfactory. We also feel very sorry for letting the elderly wait outside in such unfavourable conditions.

“That’s why we are also trying to explore different waiting areas for them.”

Ho said seven outpatient health clinics designated to treat patients with mild cases received 700 bookings on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor met the hotel sector on Wednesday about the supply of rooms to isolate Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms.

Lam said it was a “highly constructive meeting” and good progress had been made. She said she was optimistic at least 10,000 could be made available to help relieve the overwhelmed health care system.

Before the meeting, officials had already secured 4,400 hotel rooms, with about 1,700 available for use as soon as this week. Some 1,000 retired disciplined service officers have also been recruited to help operate the hotels for patients.

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Much of Wednesday’s focus was on the three-year-old’s death, which was caused by acute brain inflammation triggered by her Covid-19 infection, sources said.

The girl had no underlying medical issues and was in a critical condition after being admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin on Saturday. The following day she was transferred to an intensive care unit at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where she died at 8.37pm on Tuesday.

Her death followed that last Friday of a four-year-old boy who was sent to Pok Oi Hospital after vomiting and collapsing at his home in Yuen Long. He tested preliminary-positive for Covid-19.

Professor Lau Yu-lung, a paediatrician who chairs a government committee on vaccine-preventable diseases, said several medical explanations could be behind the acute deaths, including a lack of exposure to other viruses to build up toddlers’ immunity over the past two years because of masked social interactions, and higher susceptibility due to narrower air tubes.

Some children might also have genetic defects that made them unable to produce sufficient amounts of interferon alpha, seen as the first line of defence against viruses, resulting in high viral load and inflammation of the organs.

“You can’t change your body, but what you can change is vaccination,” Lau said, urging adults to get vaccinated to also help protect children as jabs were not available to those under the age of three.

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Dr Patrick Ip Pak-keung, a clinical associate professor in the University of Hong Kong’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, said he believed some children could have been infected during cross-family gatherings at Lunar New Year, adding those aged three or above should get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The Hospital Authority’s Ho urged parents to take their children’s temperature every four hours, wipe them with damp towels if they had a fever and closely monitor their behaviour.

Two Children Community Vaccination Centres – at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital and Yuen Chau Kok Sports Centre in Sha Tin – opened on Wednesday, the first day BioNTech shots became available for those aged five to 11.

Dr Kwan Yat-wah, a consultant at Princess Margaret Hospital’s paediatric infectious diseases unit, sought to ease parents’ concerns about getting their children inoculated, saying most were suitable for vaccination, including those with conditions such as eczema and allergies.

Separately, a study by Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital and HKU’s faculty of medicine found that 98 per cent of 1,102 people previously deemed to be at risk of Covid-19 vaccine-associated allergy were recommended for shots after evaluation at Vaccine Allergy Safety clinics between February and June 2021.

In another development, a new batch, the seventh, of about 1.25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

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Meanwhile, with preliminary cases waiting days to be sent to isolation or hospital, many patients said their rapid tests had returned to negative results before they were able to see a doctor.

Ho said the authority was discussing with the Food and Health Bureau whether it was necessary for each positive patient to be admitted to hospital or isolated before being officially confirmed as recovered or discharged.

She added that because of the strain on resources, non-urgent services had been cut by 40 to 50 per cent, while partners of pregnant women would not be allowed to accompany them at childbirth.