Death Toll In New Covid Wave Continues To Rise

The death toll linked to the coronavirus continued to climb in Hong Kong as the city battles a new wave of Covid cases, with two more elderly patients succumbing to the illness, taking the toll to 20.

A 76-year-old woman, who lived in Tsz Lok Estate in Tsz Wan Shan, has died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

She was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital last Tuesday and died on Sunday night.

On Monday, the hospital said a 92-year-old male patient who had Covid-19 also passed away.

He was admitted to the hospital on July 7 due to shortness of breath and cough.

Up to the first week of July, Hong Kong had recorded only seven coronavirus-linked fatalities. But the death toll has jumped sharply after the new wave of Covid cases started.

Hong Kong confirmed a near-record 128 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, and the Hospital Authority acknowledged that new cases are being found faster than public hospitals can take them in.

Sunday’s tally was the fifth straight day that the number of new infections had been in the triple digits, and is the second-highest on record. Another 100 preliminary positives are awaiting confirmation.

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