By Daisy CL Mandap
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| People flock to testing centers as the govt continues its lockdowns and compulsory testing notices |
Hong Kong posted 6,063
new confirmed cases of Covid-19 Saturday, with another 7,400 testing
preliminary positive.
The figure is just
slightly lower than the record tally of 6,611 confirmed cases posted on
Thursday last week. So far, a total of 46,763 cases of Covid-19 have been
recorded in Hong Kong.
Fifteen deaths were
also reported, comprising 10 men and five women, aged 50 to 99 years old. As in
most deaths recorded since the start of the fifth wave of the epidemic, most
were unvaccinated.
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According to the Dr
Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection, a study showed that of
the 46 deaths recorded since Dec 31 last year, only six patients were
vaccinated. Three had three doses each of the Sinovac vaccine, one had two
doses of BioNTech, and two had one dose each of Sinovac.
Of today’s confirmed
cases, four were imported and 6,059 were locally acquired.
Twenty patients were
found to carry the L452R mutant strain identified with the Delta variant, while
2,769 are likely carriers of the Omicron variant. Test results on the remaining
22 cases are either pending or the virus load was insufficient for testing.
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Dr Chuang said 30
more homes for the elderly have reported Covid-19 infections among residents or
staff, raising the total number of affected care homes to 190, involving about
120 staff and 450 residents.
She also apologized
for the delay in reaching out to close contacts who are spending home
isolation, but said auxiliary medical staff would soon contact them to
distribute electronic wristbands and supplies they need for medical
surveillance.
Dr Sara Ho from the
Hospital Authority said a total of 3,312 patients are in the North Lantau
Hospital Infection Control Centre, the HA Infectious Disease Centre, AsiaWorld
Expo and public hospitals.
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In addition, there
are about 2,400 patients with mild or no symptoms at Penny’s Bay Isolation
Center, and 110 others at the Tsuen Wan Isolation Centre.
She said there are
more than 10 patients in critical condition, aged 45 to 93 years old. There are
“several dozens” others who are in serious condition.
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| HA says no more scenes like this as waiting patients have been moved inside hospitals (Reuters) |
As promised
yesterday, she said all patients waiting outside hospitals for admission have
been moved inside. But the tents outside are still being used for triage and
for tests.
Dr Ho again offered
apologies for the long wait for hospital admission that forced many patients to
wait for hours, even days, in open air amid the cold and rain.
“Please understand that
the crisis is not over yet,” she said, adding the HA is exhausting all means to
secure beds for patients.
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Aside from cutting
the hospital stay of patients who test negative after seven days, the HA is
said to be actively looking for more isolation facilities, and has cut some
non-emergency services so more staff can help look after the patients.
The effort to recruit
private doctors for parttime work in public hospitals is also continuing. This
morning, she said three private doctors messaged to offer their services through
the dedicated WhatsApp number, 9788 8960, and by this afternoon they had
already signed contracts..
“We hope with the
facilitation of the process, more and more applicants will come and join our
team,” she said.
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Meanwhile, Dr Chuang
said patients under home isolation could leave after 14 days if they test negative,
even with the use of the rapid antigen test kits.
“They no longer have
to notify us,” she said.
But to classify
patients as confirmed cases, she said the CHP will still rely on PCR test
results.
Dr Chuang said there
is scientific evidence showing that patients who test negative after 10 to 14
days are no longer infectious.
