Surge Of New Cases Continues Into The Seventh Day

Hong Kong reported new coronavirus infections in triple digits for the seventh straight day as officials played down optimism aired by the Health Secretary that infections would come down in a week, saying they still need to observe the numbers for some time to see if the situation is getting under control.

The Hospital Authority also confirmed Hong Kong's 23rd Covid-related death, after an 85-year-old man passed away at Eastern Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile,the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) reported another 106 new infections – all but 8 of them local – with the source of infection unknown in 50 of the local cases. In addition, 85 people have been listed as preliminary positive, pending confirmation.

Earlier in the day, health chief Sophia Chan said she expects the infection rate to come down in a week or two as the data showed the infection rate from mid-July had come down.

But the CHP’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said they still need to observe the data for some more time to see if cases will drop. She said there's some delay from the infection onset time, to when the patient sees a doctor and the case being reported.

Chuang said she really hopes the trend is going down but there’s no room for complacency at the moment, and they still need to observe the trend.

The health official’s lack of optimism seemed justified as a new cluster emerged at Kin Shing (Leung's) General Contractors, with four staff and their family members coming down with the infection. So far, close to 20 infections are linked to this cluster.

This led to safety measures at construction sites where many workers would find it difficult to wear face masks while during the searing summer heat. It was also pointed out that contract labourers drift to different sites for work, increasing the risk of cross-infection.

Chuang didn't specify any steps for construction sites, but said she would suggest closing a workplace for disinfection if feasible when preliminary tests return positive.

Meanwhile a cluster at an elderly care home in Tuen Mun continued to expand, with four more residents being confirmed with Covid-19 and several others testing positive in preliminary screening.

Amid criticisms about loopholes in the quarantine exemptions for some visitors, it was also revealed that among the new imported cases were three ship crew members and two foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines.

The latest cases take the total number of infections reported in the city to 2,884, with the tally now more than double of the number of cases reported up to July 5.