By The SUN
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| Government doctors hold press briefing on latest Covid situation |
Hong Kong’s daily Covid-19 tally fell
significantly on Saturday, with 4,475 cases confirmed both from rapid and PCR
tests.
Eighteen of the new cases were imported, with 13 of them among the more than 2,000 travelers who arrived on Friday, the first day of the resumption of travel from nine countries previously banned.
Of the new arrivals, four flew in via an Emirates flight EK384 from Dubai via Bangkok, triggering a one-week ban on the flight.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The flight-suspension mechanism is activated when at least three passengers on a plane test positive on arrival in Hong Kong, or failed to comply with pre-boarding requirements.
Before Apr 1, the suspension used to last for two weeks.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health
Protection said the rise in the number of imported cases was not surprising.
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"The increase in the number of imported cases is expected, because previously we've banned some countries from flying to Hong Kong. All these imported cases will be isolated and treated," she said.
Surprisingly, all three
flights from Manila that carried the biggest number of passengers into Hong
Kong on Friday passed scrutiny, mirroring the easing of the pandemic situation
in the Philippines.
From a record-high of some 39,000
Covid-19 cases in one day in mid-January, the daily tally in the country is now
down to just about 300.
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The rapid surge in cases at
the start of the year resulted in all flights from the Philippines being suspended
one after another for bringing in numerous passengers who tested positive on
arrival in Hong Kong.
On Jan. 8, the Philippines
was included in the list of eight countries that were stopped from flying passengers
into Hong Kong.
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| A big proportion of the 2,000 passengers who arrived on Apr 1 came from Manila |
Meanwhile, 116 people with Covid-19 were reported to have died on Saturday, including 99 who passed away in public hospitals the previous day.
They took Hong Kong’s
fatality toll from the fifth wave of the pandemic to 7,848, with the death rate
rising to 0.68 percent.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Hong Kong now has a total of
1,167,713 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Among them, 10,138 are still receiving treatment at public hospitals and the
community isolation facility at AsiaWorld-Expo.
There are 79
patients in intensive care, including 15 who were recently listed as critical,
while 27 are in serious condition.
A total of 1,439 patients
were discharged from public hospitals during the 24-hour reporting period.
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