Tens Of Thousands Visit Rapid Test Reporting Platform

Tens of thousands of people on Monday logged onto a newly launched

for those who test positive for Covid via rapid tests, as an infectious diseases expert expressed optimism that Hong Kong's Omicron outbreak might have peaked.

The reporting platform started operating at 6pm. Around three hours later, the website showed a “queuing number” of more than 240,000.

The website ran smoothly and waiting times of under a minute were reported.

In the declaration form, people infected with Covid can indicate their desire to be given priority to be admitted to an isolation facility, if they have crowded living conditions at home.

The number of coronavirus cases announced by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) dropped further on Monday, to 25,150.

Respiratory medicine specialist Leung Chi-chiu said although the CHP figure does not include those who had tested positive via rapid tests, a decreasing trend shows the Omicron outbreak might have reached its peak.

He said mandatory mass testing at some public housing blocks also showed the curve had been flattened.

“It’s good news but it’s still a very high figure. We should try to maximise the use of our newly built isolation facilities to hasten the further decline of the Omicron wave,” he said.

Leung also warned that the number of Covid deaths would continue to rise, saying there’s always a lag between the number of Covid cases and fatalities.