Residents shop in Sham Shui Po district in Hong Kong on January 20, 2021. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported 77 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, all locally transmitted, bringing the city’s overall tally to 9,797.
The city has seen notable fluctuations in its daily caseload since Sunday, as mandatory testing was rolled out in Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts. The past three days recorded 55, 107 and 56 new infections, respectively.
The new infections on Wednesday included that of 41 Yau Tsim Mong residents, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, who heads the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch
The new infections on Wednesday included that of 41 Yau Tsim Mong residents, Chuang Shuk-kwan, who heads the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing.
ALSO READ: HK extends virus curbs as city sees 56 new COVID-19 cases
There were also 37 untraceable cases, of which 23 involved Yau Ma Tei residents, Chuang said.
From Saturday until Tuesday, a total of about 18,000 people, who were living in the buildings subject to mandatory testing in Yau Ma Tei and Jordan, had themselves tested, Chuang said.
Many buildings in these areas are old, with apartment units subdivided to house several tenants.
Chuang also said that more than 60 tested preliminarily positive on Wednesday, including a nurse at the North District Hospital.
The nurse developed symptoms on Monday, while her last visit to the workplace was on Thursday, the Hospital Authority’s Chief Manager Linda Yu said at the same briefing.
The nurse had been taking care of confirmed patients in recent three months, Yu said. Five of her colleagues were classified as close contacts and would be quarantined.
READ MORE: Mandatory testing for thousands in Yau Tsim Mong district
An 88-year-old woman with chronic diseases, who was hospitalized on Dec 29 last year, died from the disease on Tuesday night, the Hospital Authority said in a statement. She was the 166th coronavirus fatality in the city.