By The SUN
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| Doctors say 80% of Covid patients in hospitals are aged 60 and above (File) |
Health authorities
have again called on elderly people to get fully vaccinated and seek medical
attention immediately when they catch Covid-19, as they reported an additional 5,757
cases on Wednesday, the biggest since Apr 1.
It was the second time
in four days that the caseload topped 5,000, indicating a slow but steady
increase in the number of infections.
Among the new cases, 5,563
were locally transmitted, while the remaining 194 were imported from 43
countries.
According to Dr Albert
Au of the Centre for Health Protection, five countries – Thailand, the United
Kingdom, United States, India and the Philippines, each had more than 10
travelers who tested positive after arriving in Hong Kong.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Among these imported
cases, 89 were detected at the airport, 54 during the three-day hotel quarantine,
and 51 after the travelers had rejoined the community.
Meanwhile, 94
residents of a care home in the Southern District had to be sent to quarantine
after seven other residents and two staff members tested positive for Covid-19.
A nurse in the five-story
facility tested positive on Aug 15, and the rest of the patients were found
infected during follow-up testing.
The two doctors sent
out an urgent appeal for elderly residents to complete their vaccination,
saying about 80 percent of patients in hospital now are aged 60 and above, and
more than 80% of those in critical and serious condition are in the same age
bracket.
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| Press for details |
Au said more elderly
people are likely to come down with the virus, noting that 15,443 of those who
caught Covid in the past two weeks, or nearly 25% of all the patients, were
aged 60 and above.
In the last two weeks
of July, the number was less than 13,000, making up 18% of the total number.
"In the past two
weeks, there are over 15,000 elderly people aged 60 and above infected with
Covid,” said Au. “So we encourage elderly people living in the community to
receive vaccination as soon as possible."
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| The doctors say it is important for the elderly and those with chronic diseases to complete their jabs |
He also gave data
showing that patients in this age group are 66 times more likely to die after catching
Covid if they did not complete three doses of a vaccine.
Without vaccination,
he said the mortality rate for those aged over 60 rises to 86% or one in every
12 of those infected.
Given these, Au said
it was equally important for the elderly to seek medical help as soon as they
test positive for the virus, especially if they are not fully vaccinated.
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| Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love |
"If they have
symptoms, they must seek medical care or consultation, and get tested, so that
if they're really infected, they can receive treatment as early as possible,”
he said.
Lau
also reported four related deaths, involving two men and two women aged 52 to
96. Three of them had only two jabs of a Covid vaccine, including the youngest,
a woman who suffered from lung cancer.
The
patient tested positive at a hospital’s emergency section when she sought
medical help on Aug 3. She was given oral antiviral drugs before being admitted
to Haven of Hope Hospital on August 11 for her cancer treatment. Her condition
deteriorated and she died yesterday.
Lau
appealed to patients with critical illnesses like cancer to complete their
vaccination to better protect themselves because of their weakened immune systems.
Contrary to popular belief, he said failing to get vaccinated could leave them
more vulnerable to serious complications should they catch the coronavirus.
Responding
to reporters’ questions, Lau said that a toddler who was rushed to hospital in
critical condition after catching the coronavirus is now stable and has been
moved to regular pediatric ward in hospital.
However,
a five-year-old girl who also suffered serious complications from Covid, is
still fighting for her life at Tuen Mun Hospital.
He
said a total of 1,875 patients are now receiving treatment in public hospitals.
Among them 32 are in critical condition, including 10 in intensive care, while
33 are in serious condition.
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