HK In 'war' Against Flu: Hospital Authority Chief

The Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Leung Pak-yin, warned on Monday that Hong Kong is in a "protracted war" against flu and the winter season is expected to last until May.

Officials were expecting accident and emergency departments to be busy on Tuesday when the Lunar New Year holiday comes to an end.

Hospital Authority figures showed that people were having to wait more than seven hours to be seen at some A&E departments on Monday afternoon.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan, who inspected three public hospitals earlier in the day, said tens of thousands of extra doses of flu vaccine would be available shortly.

The Centre for Health Protection said last week that it had managed to get hold of an extra 40,000 influenza shots to help tackle this year's unusually intense winter flu season.

Flu outbreaks have already led to primary schools and kindergartens closing early before the Lunar New Year holidays.