By The SUN
 |
| Vaccination centre for kids: Experts will decide Monday whether those under 3 can get the jab |
Experts advising the
government on its pandemic response are set to meet on Monday on whether Covid
vaccines should be given to children under the age of three.
This was disclosed by Dr
Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection as a 22-month-old girl who
suffered brain swelling after contracting Covid-19 remains in critical
condition in hospital.
Chuang said the baby was found to carry the BA.2.2 Omicron subvariant.
She said vaccination is essential for everyone, particularly for those who are near babies as they are still unable to receive vaccination.
She also reported an
additional 4,683 new infections today, including 193 imported cases – 78 were
detected at the airport, 94 in quarantine hotels, and 21 after the patient had
finished the seven-day isolation.
Four more patients with Covid,
aged between 65 and 92, died within the past 24 hours, taking the fatality toll
from the fifth wave to 9,289.
HA’s Dr Gladys Kwan said a
total of 1,456 patients are now being treated at public hospitals, including 17
who are in critical condition and 22 who are seriously ill. Among the
critically ill, nine are in intensive care units.
Kwan also reported another hospital
outbreak. This time, it happened in the geriatric ward
at Princess Margaret Hospital, involving five patients and a nursing student in
total.
Another one appears to have
occurred at Kwai Chung Hospital where three patients had caught the virus
shortly after an employee was infected.
Meanwhile, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau has
confirmed that Hong Kong is considering reducing mandatory hotel quarantine for
arriving travelers from seven days to five days or less.
Lo said in an interview with
Now TV that during the next two days after the travelers leave hotel quarantine
they will be made to follow a yellow health code which prohibits them from
visiting high-risk places or those that will allow them to take off their masks
in public.
In addition, the new arrival
may be asked to take a rapid antigen test every two days.
Lo did not mention a time
frame for the move, but previous media reports it will be put in place in time
for a global bankers’ summit to be held in Hong Kong in November.
