Hong Kong Adds 55,353 New Covid Cases

New coronavirus cases in Hong Kong on Wednesday reached another record high at 55,353, with health authorities saying large freezer containers will be set up at public hospitals to store dead bodies as mortuaries are reaching capacity.

The latest daily Covid-19 tally is a 70 percent jump from the 32,597 infections recorded on Tuesday.

But Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the record figure is within their expectations, as the number of new infections continues to double every few days.

Of the new cases, 27 were imported.

The Hospital Authority, meanwhile, reported 160 Covid-related deaths.

Among them, the authority said 117 passed away over the past day. Most of them were elderly people and unvaccinated.

The other 43 patients who died earlier were also added onto the official death toll, bringing the total numbers of fatalities in the Omicron outbreak to 967.

As the number of Covid-related deaths remains high, a chief manager of the Hospital Authority, Larry Lee, said large freezer containers that can store up to a total of 500 bodies will be set up at public hospitals.

He also said that 60 kidney patients who had been receiving dialysis at private hospitals have been transferred to public hospitals after testing positive for Covid.

He said he hopes more non-Covid patients can be transferred to private hospitals to alleviate the burden on public hospitals.

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