Dozens More Catch Coronavirus In Hong Kong

Hong Kong saw 64 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Saturday – all but four of the patients infected locally – with the authorities admitting the city's public hospitals are now starting to feel the strain.

The daily figure is one of the highest ever recorded in the SAR, but on top of this, preliminary tests on more than 60 others have also come back positive.

Health officials said 25 of the confirmed local cases are linked to previous clusters, but 35 of the patients were infected via unknown sources.

Those known to have come into contact with earlier patients include people who had been to a noodle and congee restaurant in Choi Hung, as well as two other eateries in Tsz Wan Shan where there have been clusters of cases.

Two people who recently played table tennis with an infected person in San Po Kong have also come down with the virus, officials said at a briefing.

The cases that can't be traced include a 16-year-old student, a singer who had performed in Tsim Sha Tsui, a salesperson who works in Siu Sai Wan, a customs officer and his wife, a 71-year-old toilet cleaner who works at the airport, and a street hawker in Yau Ma Tei.

There are also four more infections involving people returning to the SAR from Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India and the Philippines.

The Centre for Health Protection’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said there’s no sign that the pandemic is abating and she urged people not to be complacent.

“Judging from the number of cases recorded these few days, the trend is still going up. I appeal to members of the public to please stay at home as far as possible and avoid gathering activities”, she said.

The Hospital Authority’s Chief Manager for Quality and Standards, Dr Lau Ka-hin, added that public hospitals have recently admitted a high number of chronically ill elderly patients with coronavirus, which is putting a strain on the public health system.

“It will give a lot of pressure to not just our medical wards, but in particular our intensive care units”, Lau said.

He added that many non-essential services have now been suspended so that resources can be deployed to fight the pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Hong Kong recorded its 12th death among coronavirus patients, with an elderly man dying in Queen Elizabeth Hospital.