By The SUN
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| Hospitals have activated phase two of a contingency plan to respond to a possible surge in Covid cases |
Health officials are stepping up measures to respond to a possible doubling of Covid-19 cases in two weeks, which they fear could overwhelm the healthcare system again.
This comes as the city recorded 4,270 new Covid infections Friday, the second day that the daily tally has exceeded 4,000.
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The Centre for Health Protection’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the rise in the daily caseload is likely to continue, though it’s difficult when the numbers would peak again.
“That is difficult to foresee but of course we don’t want the cases to increase too rapidly because that would affect the provision of healthcare services,” she said.
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Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said “phase two” of a contingency plan to respond to the rise in infections has already been put in place.
This means that the number of hospital beds set aside for Covid patients has been increased from 1,200 to 2,500, and more staff are on standby to care for the sick.
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He said that non-urgent services like elective surgery will inevitably be affected in case of a surge in cases, but the HA will still try to cope with patients’ needs as much as possible.
There are now 1,257 patients receiving treatment at various public hospitas. Among them, 18 are in critical condition, 29 are in serious condition, and two of the critically ill are in hospitals' intensive care units.
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Lee also reported six additional Covid-related deaths involving two men and four women aged between 72 and 97. The new fatalities raised the death toll from the fifth wave to 9,241.
The new infections included 180 imported from abroad – 78 were detected at the airport, 97 at quarantine hotels and five post-quarantine.
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A total of 442 infections were reported from 340 schools, involving 365 students and 77 teachers and staff members.
Three elderly homes in Mong Kok, Tuen Mun and Tsing Yi also reported one Covid case each.
Chuang called on everyone who is at high risk for contracting the coronavirus to get all three vaccine jabs as soon as possible, and for the more vulnerable, to include a fourth dose.
If they feel unwell they should seek medical attention immediately.
Asked about reports of a dozen people contracting Covid during a party among Cathay Pacific crew members, Chuang said she would not disclose details about an individual case or cluster.
A total of 1,257 Public hospitals and treatment facilities are now housing 1,257 Covid patients. Among them, 18 are in critical condition, 29 are in serious condition, and two are in hospitals' intensive care units. In the past 24 hours, 126 patients have recovered from Covid, and 110 of them have been discharged.
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