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| Chuang and Yu at today's press briefing: Stay home for the next week or two |
Hong Kong health officials have again asked people to stay at home for the next one or two weeks, while the new gathering restrictions take effect, as a new daily record of 123 Covid-19 cases was posted today, Jul 24.
Dr
Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said about 100 preliminary
positive cases have also been recorded since after midnight last night. But right now, the total confirmed cases number 2,373, with 16 deaths.
One
elderly patient who died at United Christian Hospita this afternoon became the 16th to die
from the coronavirus disease. The 74-year-old male patient with renal problems
passed away at 12:48 pm. He was a resident at a virus-plagued elderly care home
in Tsz Wan Shan.
Among
the new cases were eight recent arrivals from abroad, including three seafarers
from the Philippines and another from India.
The
others included an air crew who flew in from India, a returning resident, also
from India, and another from Pakistan. The eighth came from Ethiopia, and was a
close contact of an air cargo pilot who earlier tested positive.
Of
the 115 local cases, 64 were linked to previous cases, and 53 are of unknown
origin.
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This
prompted a renewed warning from Dr Chuang for people to remain indoors,
particularly the elderly. She also advised housewives to avoid going to wet
markets, but if they must, they should always observe proper health hygiene, including
the wearing of masks, and frequent hand cleansing.
She
said that the continuing rise in infections reflect the situation about one or
two weeks before, which is the incubation period for the virus. But the
situation right now is worrying, she said, because the infected people engaged
in various activities, making contract tracing more difficult.
“If
this trend continues, it will be very difficult for us to handle the situation,”
Chuang said.
Dr
Linda Yu of the Hospital Authority disclosed that the number of critically or
seriously ill patients has continued to rise. Of the 779 patients currently admitted
in 14 hospitals, 44 are in critical condition and 16 are seriously ill.
Many
are elderly people who did not seek medical attention immediately, or had
underlying chronic illnesses.
