Coronavirus Hong Kong: daily caseloads hit 10,000, but health chief says outbreak manageable amid high vaccination rate, lower Covid severity
- Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau warns residents to stay vigilant however as ‘there will always be another epidemic’
- Hospital Authority restarts 24-hour command centre operations to monitor situation at facilities across network
Despite the surge, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau expressed confidence that the outbreak remained manageable due to the population’s high vaccination rate and the lower severity of the illness.
“According to the estimates of the Health Bureau, there are more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus infections in Hong Kong every day,” Lo said in an interview with mainland Chinese media on Friday. “There will always be another epidemic.”
About 2,700 Covid-19 patients were receiving treatment in public healthcare facilities, with a relatively short average stay of 4.8 days, according to the Hospital Authority. To better monitor the situation, the authority had restarted the 24-hour operation of its emergency command centre.
According to the government’s weekly report on the coronavirus situation, 3,621 infections were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests from May 7 to 13, up from 2,927 in the seven days prior. Since isolation orders were dropped on January 30, authorities have recorded 22,953 cases and 348 Covid-related deaths.
