New Covid Cases Continue To Edge Lower

Hong Kong's daily Covid tally remained below 1,000 for the third consecutive day on Sunday, as health authorities reported 747 new infections, down almost 50 cases from the day before.

Of the latest cases, 446 were confirmed by PCR tests, while the remaining 301 were reported from people who tested themselves.

Eleven of the new cases were imported.

Health authorities on Sunday also reported that 29 more Covid patients had died, including 24 who passed away in the previous day.

In all, more than 8,900 people infected with the coronavirus have died in the fifth wave.

Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection says officials expect a rebound in Covid cases after the Easter holidays.

But she stopped short of saying what specific measures would be taken if cases returned to any particular level, saying only that the government has "relevant contingency plans" to deal with a surge.

Meanwhile, a chief manager from the Hospital Authority, Larry Lee, said health officials had made preparations, along with education authorities, to tackle a possible rebound as in-person schooling begins to resume in the coming week.

He noted that authorities had planned for hospitals to admit more paediatric patients, and were looking into providing better support for the admission of families with different needs in community treatment facilities.

Lee added that the 23 designated Covid clinics across the city were prepared to provide more services and reserve sufficient places to meet the demand.