“All of the [Covid-19] figures have increased by about 30 to 50 per cent,” he said, adding the number of daily confirmed cases might have already reached 10,000, outnumbering a small peak in infections recorded last August.

Lo also said reintroducing the mask mandate would result in social and economic costs.

How can Hong Kong best shield itself from the recent flu outbreak?

“The mask mandate, a legislative means, would create an adverse impact on social and economic activities. If we can use other methods to deal with [the rise in cases], we will not consider this method for the time being,” he said.

Immunity against Covid-19 in the city was stronger than before, Lo added, saying more than 95 per cent of residents had been either infected or vaccinated, while the community and hospitals had developed a better ability to cope with the pandemic.

“Even if there is a peak in spring and summer, we can still cope with it. There is no need for some non-medical social-distancing measures, such as reintroducing the mask mandate,” he said.

Lo said Arcturus, a new Covid subvariant, had been detected in the community but the numbers were low, as less than 3 per cent of the virus was found in sewage samples.

First detected in January, Arcturus, also known as XBB. 1.16, is an Omicron subvariant. It is listed as a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization.

How worried should you be about Covid subvariant Arcturus reported in Hong Kong?

According to the WHO, there has been an upwards global trend in Arcturus cases, but there are currently no reports suggesting increased infection severity.

Lo said city residents had weaker immunity against the flu after wearing masks for three years. He pointed out the number of hospitalised cases and deaths had increased, but they were not as many as those recorded in previous years during the flu season.

20 deaths among 47 serious flu cases spark warning to Hong Kong public to get jab

“According to our experience, the flu season takes 12 to 16 weeks to subside,” he said, adding the city was in its third week of battling the wave and the medical system was able to cope with it.

Tsui Sik-hon, chairman of the Hospital Authority’s coordinating committee on accident and emergency services, said the number of patients at the department had recently reached about 6,000.

On Friday, 6,255 patients visited emergency services, with more than 1,100 admitted to medical wards for Covid-19 or the flu, marking an increase compared with a few weeks ago, according to Tsui.

He said most were not serious cases and urged those with mild symptoms to visit general outpatient or private clinics to avoid long wait times at hospitals.

Hong Kong volunteer emergency service loses 20 per cent of staff in 5 years

Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, a top infectious disease expert at the University of Hong Kong, said during another radio programme that the flu season would peak in one to two weeks, while it might take eight weeks for Covid-19 cases to reach the highest point.

“We saw sporadic cases of Arcturus, but the number did not really rise quickly,” he said. “A few elderly people who got infected had conjunctivitis and eye inflammation, which are all related to the new [subvariant].”

Separately, about 20 doctors and soon-to-graduate medical students trained in Britain are set to join the city’s public hospitals in autumn, after the authority’s chief executive Tony Ko Pat-sing led a delegation to London earlier this month to attract healthcare workers to address a labour shortage in Hong Kong.

Hospital Authority chief sells Hong Kong to UK-based medical students, doctors

When asked whether the number of British doctors coming to the city was a drop in the bucket compared with a high turnover rate at hospitals, Lo said he disagreed as the government had many ways to attract and retain employees.

“Within a short period of time, we received such a positive response as we were able to secure more than 20 workers out of 100 offers. It’s quite good as they are professional and not just ordinary talent, ” he said.

Statistics submitted by the Health Bureau to the Legislative Council last month showed public hospitals faced significant staff shortages. A total of 1,247 doctors left their positions between April 2020 and the end of 2022, with only 15 per cent of them retiring.