Number Of New Coronavirus Cases Drops To One

Hong Kong recorded just one new case of Covid-19 on Thursday, as the outbreak in the city continued to ebb away steadily.

This was the fifth consecutive day that Hong Kong had recorded a single-digit count in new infections.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection revealed that the latest confirmed case was a 19-year-old student who returned to Hong Kong from the UK earlier this month.

She had tested negative as she started her mandatory quarantine at a hotel, but after she finished her 14-day confinement, she came down with a fever and then tested positive for Covid-19.

But Chuang said that the fall in the number of new cases does not mean people can let their guard down when it comes to hygiene and social distancing.

"As the overseas cases are ongoing, even if the number of cases in Hong Kong is going down a bit, we still have to maintain vigilance, especially to prevent any imported cases from spreading into the community."

She said restrictions on non-residents arriving in Hong Kong, testing and quarantine, individual efforts to maintain social distancing and hygiene were all contributing factors to the drop in Covid-19 cases.

Chuang pointed out that there may be a lag in the number of cases being reported, and said many people went out during the Easter holiday, increasing the risk of infection.

But she refused to be drawn on whether or not now is the time for the authorities to ease social distancing measures.

"I think this consideration is not only based on a public health point of view, there may be other considerations for the government."

“There could be some practical factors that would have to be left for the government to consider,” she added.

Dr Linda Yu from the Hospital Authority said 26 coronavirus patients had been discharged on Wednesday, but some 520 were still being treated in public hospitals. Nine of them were in a critical condition.

The total number of cases reported in Hong Kong stood at 1,017 on Thursday.