Flu outbreaks surge at Hong Kong schools as cold weather warning issued
The forecaster issued the warning at 6am, expecting the weather to be persistently cold over next few days
Hong Kong schools are seeing a surge in flu outbreaks, health authorities have said, with the city’s forecaster issuing a cold weather warning as temperatures drop.
Albert Au Ka-wing, head of the Centre for Health Protection Communicable Disease Branch, told a radio programme on Friday that the city had entered the flu season.
“We expect the number of influenza cases to further increase,” he said, noting that schools might experience more outbreaks.
He also said the local influenza activity continued to increase amid a spike at schools and care homes.
He added that the centre recorded seven institutional or school outbreaks were reported last week, up from a weekly two to four cases in December.
Au reminded students with flu symptoms or fever not to go to school to reduce the risk of outbreaks.
Maria Leung Kwan-wa, chairwoman of the Hospital Authority Coordinating Committee in Family Medicine, said during the same radio programme that the average number of emergency room visits this week had slightly increased compared with last week.
