Daily Covid Toll In HK Drops Below 6,000

The number of new Covid cases in Hong Kong fell to 5,823 on Friday, some 800 cases less than the previous day .

Among the new infections, 2,743 were confirmed by PCR tests while 3,080 were reported by people who took rapid tests.

Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection warned that despite the drop in infections, the daily caseload remains high and there could be a rebound in cases if people let down their guard too soon.

Asked whether new Covid variants – such as the blend of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains found in the UK – could exacerbate the outbreak here, she said officials are waiting for more analysis from their overseas counterparts.

"We will closely monitor the latest information from other places and the World Health Organisation, to see if there are any new viral strains that may threaten Hong Kong," she told reporters, adding that the WHO is studying whether the new strains are more transmissible.

Chuang said the University of Hong Kong had reported two imported cases in February involving the "XE" strain, but none has so far been detected in the local community.

Meanwhile, officials reported another 116 deaths, including 96 who passed away at public hospitals in the past 24 hours.

A total of 7,732 people with Covid have died in the Omicron outbreak, with the death rate at 0.67 percent.