By The SUN
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| Health officials give the bleak picture at a rare press conference |
Health authorities have reported 9,219 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, 719 of them imported.
This is the first time the daily caseload has topped 9,000 in more than two
months.
Thirteen new Covid deaths were also reported, which took the total tally for the past week to 78, or 14.7% more than the previous week.
The officials warned the elderly could again
become more vulnerable, especially with the approach of winter.
Speaking at a rare press conference, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the average daily number of cases has risen by 25.6% compared to last week.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Hardest hit by the renewed surge in cases are schools, with 82% more staff and 32% more students coming down with the virus in the past seven days compared to the previous week.
Residential care homes are also seeing a marked increase in cases, with 44% more institutions being affected in the current week.
Chuang said the surge in cases may be
due to a number of factors, such as an increase in social activities as well as
the number of travelers, which is turn, has led to a rise in imported cases.
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It could also be due to the waning
immunity of vaccinated people, especially those in care homes for the elderly.
She reported that more Omicron variants are now
being found locally, including XBB and BQ1.1. However, the dominant variants
among local cases are still BA.4/BA.5 and BA.2.
Chuang added the number of cases may keep rising
in the coming days.
The CHP noted that there has been a 24% increase
in the caseload compared with last week, and that the daily tally has averaged
around 7,300. Many of the cases have been recorded in schools and care homes.
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| Press for details |
The number of imported cases has also risen, and
they now make up 7.4% of all cases. About 55% of the imported cases were detected
on the patients’ arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport, and the rest,
between days 2 and 7 of their arrival.
The number of people getting hospitalized is also
on the upswing, with about 350 new patients being admitted daily.
Currently, around 2,500 Covid patients are admitted in public hospitals, marking a 40% increase since early October.
More than 100 of these patients are in serious or
critical condition, which is about 10 more than in the previous week.
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| Dr Lee tells people not to panic because the vaccine that targets Omicron is coming soon |
Despite the bleak scenario, Undersecretary for Health Dr Libby Lee advised people “not to feel frustrated or panic,” adding that the BioNTech bivalent vaccine which targets the Omicron variant, should be available early next month.
Lee also said the current Covid restrictions will
stay in place, and will only be tightened if the public health system becomes
unmanageable.
"If the situation turns very, very bad, like the whole medical system is collapsed, patients with Covid or no Covid cannot access any medical services, at this juncture, of course we will need to tighten the social distancing measures," said Lee.
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"Yet this is the last thing we would like to
do."
The doctors again advised people to remain
cautious and alert, especially about maintaining personal hygiene. They must
wash hands more often and wear masks properly.
They should also get tested for Covid-19 more
often, either through rapid antigen or PCR tests. Testing becomes particularly
necessary when someone feels unwell.
Anyone who tests positive and is not vaccinated
should seek medical help at once. But patients who are vaccinated and need help
should contact the Hospital Authority instead of rushing to the hospitals’
emergency rooms.
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