Hong Kong reports 58,757 new coronavirus cases and 291 deaths
- More than 32,700 residents log their infections through new online portal after using rapid tests
- Government also sends out unprecedented emergency alert informing residents about conversion of Queen Elizabeth Hospital into designated Covid-19 facility
Hong Kong confirmed more than 58,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including 32,766 residents who logged their infections through a new online portal after using rapid antigen tests (RAT).
They were added to the 25,991 infections discovered through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, of which seven were imported, for an overall tally of 58,757 cases on Wednesday. The city’s overall tally of cases stood at 586,017.
Dr Albert Au Ka-wing of the Centre for Health Protection said the daily number of infections discovered through PCR tests had stabilised, but it was too early to tell whether the fifth wave had peaked because RAT results had not been counted until the platform went live on Monday night.
“Just purely judging from the number of PCR tests, we think that the increasing trend of cases in Hong Kong has been stabilised and reached a plateau level, but for the future trend we still need to observe for a few days or up to one week to see if we have reached the peak or not,” he said.
Au said many patients in the current wave were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, adding that some infected people might not have undergone testing.
“The actual number of infections will definitely be much higher than those identified through PCR or RAT screening,” he added.
The government also sent out an unprecedented emergency alert with an audio alarm in both English and Chinese informing residents about the conversion of Queen Elizabeth Hospital into a designated Covid-19 facility.
