By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Drs Chuang and Lau at the daily press briefing on the Covid situation |
Health officials say there is no
need to submit negative results for rapid antigen test (RAT) , as the first of
three days of self-testing across the city has kept daily confirmed cases
steady at 2,535.
For the first time, the confirmed cases from PCR went down to below three digits, at 897. However, the positive results from RATs went up to 1,638, which suggested that quite a number of people who complied with the government’s recommendation to self-test had been caught in the exercise.
According
to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection, previous RAT
results showed that about 65% of the cases were symptomatic. However, the trend
was reversed yesterday, when 70% of the confirmed cases reported no symptoms.
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“This
reflects quite a number of people who were asymptomatic had tested themselves
and found themselves positive,” said Chuang. “So we have found some
asymptomatic cases in the community.”
The CHP expert also told people that it
was not necessary to report negative results, saying a number of such reports
were made to the government platform, which is meant to receive only positive
results so patients can be issued with isolation orders.
Of those who reported their positive results
on RATs, she said about 10% were deemed to be high-risk cases, so the patients had
to be sent to isolation facilities. The rest were allowed to undergo home
isolation.
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The additional confirmed cases
pushed Hong Kong’s total infection figure in the fifth wave to 1,188,262.
Among the new cases were 13 imported from overseas, including 11 who tested positive at the airport, and two during quarantine.
Five of those who were caught on arrival tests flew in aboard flight CX 798 from Jakarta on Apr 8, prompting a one-week suspension of that flight operated by Cathay Pacific.
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Chuang also said the death toll from the Omicron outbreak had gone up to 8,705, pushing the death rate to 0.72%.
The deaths included 8,433 recorded in public hospitals, 56 from public mortuaries and three from the privately-run Chinese University Medical Centre.
However, the daily death toll has dropped considerably to 62, including 53 which happened on Friday. The rest were not reported on time.
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Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said two of the recent fatalities were both males aged below 60. One was 58 years old and had late-stage cancer while the other was 60 and was bedridden due to a neurological problem.
Both passed on in hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.
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Lau said 9,292 patients are being treated in public hospitals and infection control facilities. Among them three were in critical condition and were among 66 patients in intensive care, while 17 were in serious condition.
