HONG KONG – Hong Kong's health authorities today reported 16,597 new COVID-19 infections – a three-week low and 3,485 cases fewer than the day before.
Of the new cases, 7,528 were detected by PCR tests, while 9,069 were reported by people who took rapid tests themselves.
There were 14 imported cases, including 13 who flew in from Indonesia
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection noted daily infection figures have been slowly falling, but added the figures do not reflect cases where people did not show symptoms or get tested.
She urged people to stay vigilant and maintain social distancing.
Meanwhile, authorities said 182 more people died with COVID-19 at public hospitals in the past 24 hours, involving patients aged between 30 and 109. Most of them were aged 65 or above.
Of the 182 patients, 127 were unvaccinated, 32 had taken one COVID-19 dose, 20 had received two doses, while three of them had had three shots.
Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority (HA) said the Coroner’s Court will look into the death of a 30-year-old patient who had died with COVID-19. He noted that the patient had had G6PD deficiency and a mental illness, adding that his condition had deteriorated rapidly.
Authorities also said 61 more people had died in hospitals with COVID-19 earlier but had not been reported previously, in addition to six more people who had passed away outside hospitals.
In all, there have been 1,020,910 COVID-19 cases and 5,437 deaths so far in the latest wave of novel coronavirus infections, authorities said.
Macau's COVID-19 tally stands at 82, excluding asymptomatic cases, while its COVID-19 death toll has remained at zero since it confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in January 2020. – RTHK, MPD
