Rise In Unlinked Covid Cases Worrying: Expert

An infectious diseases expert said on Monday it is worrying that the percentage of coronavirus cases with unknown sources has risen to almost 50 percent, saying this shows a lot of silent transmission in the community.

Hong Kong recorded 91 local cases on Sunday - 41 of which were untraceable.

Dr Joseph Tsang of the Medical Council told an RTHK programme that he expects the daily confirmed cases in the city to remain at around 100 for the rest of the month and believes it will take some time before the latest social distancing measures are able to reduce infections.

Tsang said while the coronavirus hasn’t mutated so far, young people should not let their guard down after a 42-year-old woman who was previously in good health died on Saturday, just a week after developing symptoms.

"There are no exceptions for young people. I think they have the wrong impression that the coronavirus affects the elderly and people with chronic diseases more, or only this group of people will be in a more serious condition [after being infected]," he said.

Tsang said research in the UK shows that whether people develop serious complications or not could be down to their DNA. He urged people not to take upper respiratory symptoms or fever lightly, and to get tested as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, on the three Covid-19 vaccines the government is buying, microbiologist Ho Pak-leung said there are pros and cons with each of them, adding that people should base their decision on whether to get vaccinated on science rather than politics.

"If people politicse the matter, it may turn something good to bad," said the University of Hong Kong expert.

Ho said people should not compare the three vaccines because they are developed based on three different technologies, adding that more data will become available in the coming weeks.

The government has purchased a total of 15 million doses from mainland company Sinovac, and German firm BioNTech in collaboration with mainland firm Fosun Pharma. The doses are expected to be delivered in the coming months.

Another 7.5 million doses coming from a third firm are expected to be delivered later next year.