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Coronavirus Hong Kong
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Covid Hong Kong: daily caseloads will drop soon, pandemic advisers forecast, with current ‘small wave’ no cause for alarm

  • Professor Lau Yu-lung from HKU says number of cases per day will decrease after remaining at the current plateau ‘for a period of time’
  • Health chief Lo Chung-mau last week said his bureau had estimated that up to 10,000 Hongkongers daily were being infected with the coronavirus

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Hong Kong commuters in Quarry Bay. The city recently experienced a “small wave” of Covid-19, according to an expert. Photo: Dickson Lee
Sammy Heung
Hong Kong’s daily Covid-19 caseloads will drop soon, government pandemic advisers have forecast, after the health minister earlier estimated up to 10,000 residents were being infected each day.

Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the paediatrics department at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), on Monday said the number of coronavirus cases per day would decrease after remaining at the current plateau “for a period of time”.

Lau said the city had experienced an anticipated “small wave”, and there was no cause for alarm. The number of daily infections reported to authorities stood at 480 to 500 after peaking at more than 500 between May 10 and 13, he noted.

Professor Lau Yu-lung from HKU. Photo: Edmond So
Professor Lau Yu-lung from HKU. Photo: Edmond So

“There is a certain level of pressure on the departments of medicine and paediatrics [at public hospitals], with occupancy rates beyond 100 per cent and close to 100 per cent respectively,” Lau told a radio programme.

“But most importantly, the number of patients with serious symptoms is not high. On average, they stay for four to five days, compared with two to three weeks before.”

He added that the proportion of those with serious symptoms was about 7 per cent, down from 10 per cent a few weeks ago.

Lau said about five to 10 deaths linked to Covid-19 were recorded daily, mostly elderly patients or those who suffered from chronic illnesses or were immunocompromised.

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