Rise In Covid Cases 'no Cause For Alarm'

An expert from the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health on Friday said the rise in local Covid-19 cases isn't cause for concern, though the government should consider setting up permanent facilities to deal with mild cases to ease the pressure on public hospitals.

Health authorities on Thursday reported more than 3,000 Covid cases for the first time since April, warning that the daily figure could breach 6,000 within a fortnight.

Speaking on RTHK’s Hong Kong Today programme, Associate Professor Vijay Dhanasekaran from the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health said there's no need for any “huge concern" at the moment.

"My really big concern is only the people who have not been vaccinated with their third shots yet, and the most vulnerable who are actually very frail. The rest of the population I believe should be perfectly fine, even if we have more cases coming up in the next few weeks.”

But he acknowledged that the rise in cases could pile pressure on public hospitals, suggesting that authorities should consider setting up permanent facilities specifically catering for vulnerable elderly people

“Listening to the clinicians and the hospital experts over the last few months, it’s really clear that we don’t have a great system, especially for people living in residential care centres,” he said, noting that even mild cases are automatically sent to hospitals.

“I think the government should at least build some specific facilities to take care of the frail – especially when they don’t want to be in a residential care facility when they’re safe, but I can understand that. But I think we had residential elderly care hospitals, designated hospitals where we can actually take these residents, take them to temporary care and release them back into society.”