Residents enjoy the weekend at West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade on May 2, 2022. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported 9,373 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a slight drop from Monday’s 10,021, as health authorities said nine more patients had passed away.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised 9,187 local infections and 186 imported ones.
The nine new deaths brought the city’s toll during the fifth wave of infections to 9,536.
ALSO READ: HK logs 10,683 COVID cases, new hospital cluster detected
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised 9,187 local infections and 186 imported ones
Of the 186 imported infections, 81 were detected at the airport, 61 in quarantine hotels, and 44 in community testing centers. Twenty-one cases came from the United Kingdom, 19 from India, 16 from the Philippines, 15 from Canada, and 13 each from the United States and India.
Chuang added that 767 schools reported 1,304 students and 212 teaching staff members testing positive. Forty-five schools had to suspend a total of 54 in-person classes for one week due to infections.
Larry Lee Lap-yip, chief manager (Integrated Clinical Services) of the Hospital Authority, said in the same press briefing that the nine COVID patients who passed away included seven men and two women aged 27 to 99 years old.
ALSO READ: HK: New COVID cases again exceed 9,000; 9 deaths reported
The 27-year-old man had been bedridden for a long time and suffering from mitochondrial diseases. The HA cannot determine if his death was related to COVID, Lee added.
As for the remaining eight patients, they all suffered from other chronic illnesses such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and cirrhosis.
He also said that 2,941 COVID patients were being treated in public hospitals as of Tuesday, including 407 new patients.
Fifty-four patients were in critical condition, including 14 in intensive care units, while 55 were in serious condition.