'Good Signal' As Covid Cases Drop To 7-week Low

Health officials expressed relief on Wednesday at the easing coronavirus situation in Hong Kong as the number of new Covid-19 cases dropped to 25, the lowest in almost seven weeks.

Twenty-two infections are locally acquired, seven of them via unknown sources.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said she hopes the downward trend could continue, but that people should remain cautious as unlinked cases are still being reported from the community.

“This is one or two days’ figures, we may foresee some fluctuation during the week. But the overall trend has been decreasing, so this is a good signal,” she said.

“But still there are quite a number of unlinked local cases in the community, so we are not sure whether we’ve picked up all the cases in the community."

One newly confirmed case is a resident at a hostel in Wong Tai Sin for people who have recovered from mental health illnesses. Thirty-seven other residents there have been sent to a quarantine centre.

And residents at one more public housing block, Chung Chi House in Chung On Estate in Ma On Shan, are required to undergo mandatory coronavirus tests after two cases were reported at the building.

Meanwhile, a 95-year-old patient who contracted Covid-19 has died. She was thought to have recovered on December 23, but her condition deteriorated subsequently.

Some 20 other people have tested preliminary positive for the virus.