By The SUN
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| Long queues for compulsory testing in Shatin, one of the districts with a high rate of infections |
Speaking at today’s press conference, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said that “obviously, the number has not peaked yet.”
Of today’s confirmed cases, only two are imported, and the rest were all acquired locally. Most of these cases were detected in high-risk areas like Sham Shui Po, Kwai Chung, Shatin and Tuen Mun.
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Excluding today’s tally, Chuang said there have been 5,535 cases confirmed since Dec 31, when the highly infectious Omicron variant was first detected in the city.
The death toll continues to climb as well, with two new
fatalities being reported. One was an 86-year-old man who passed away at Caritas
Medical Centre, while the other was an 88-year-old woman who succumbed at past
2pm today
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Two unvaccinated elderly male patients, aged 84 and 97, are in critical condition.
Eleven other patients are in serious condition, six females and five males. Dr Lee said over half of them are not vaccinated.
Dr Chuang said more outbreaks have occurred at elderly homes, prompting the evacuation of a number of residents. Previously, she said at least 20 elderly homes have reported outbreaks among both staff and residents.
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The infectious disease expert said the new cases are still linked to large gatherings held over the Lunar New Year holidays.
Asked if the government’s anti-epidemic measures were enough to “flatten the curve” of infections, Dr Chuang said, “We simply can’t rely on contact tracing alone because the base is huge.”
She added, “If we don’t go out I am sure we can flatten the curve.”
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“As you can see there are a lot of infections still going on in the community.”
Dr Lee also sounded off an alarm over hospital space being stretched to capacity. He said more than 85% of 1st tier and 2nd tier beds are already occupied, so the HA is speeding up the transfer of patients with slight or no symptoms to the isolation facility at Penny’s Bay.
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He acknowledged reports some patients have had to wait for days at home after being confirmed, but said staff have been doing their best to cope with the surge in cases.
Making the situation worse is the rising number of hospital
staff testing positive for Covid-19. Dr Lee said the latest outbreaks were
detected at the obstetrics ward of
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More than 40 medical staff of the HA have been infected so far, including doctors, nurses and support staff, he said.
To prevent further outbreaks, he said all clinical staff will be asked to do rapid tests. Those with symptoms, even if mild, should stop going to work.
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