By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Gloomy day in HK amid the continuing surge in infections |
Health
officials have reported 31,008 newly confirmed Covid-19 cases Sunday - the second
consecutive day that the number had
fallen back to above the 30-thousand mark - but cautioned against concluding
that the fifth wave has eased.
Dr Albert
Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the numbers tend to drop during the
weekend because fewer people get tested, and a big number of people who test positive using
rapid antigen test (RAT) kits are not yet being included in the official tally.
“Yes, for
the past two days the number has come down but it’s still very high at more
than 30,000 a day,” said Au. He said “we should observe it for a day or two
more” before coming to any conclusion.
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Today’s
infection rate pushed Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 458,986. Au had
previously said about 150,000 more could be added from the positive results
obtained from RATs.
Despite
the lower infection figure, the number of deaths reported was higher than ever,
however.
Dr Larry
Lee reported a total of 229 deaths, with a record 153 patients comprising 96
males and 57 females aged between 35 to 105 years old, passing on within the
past 24 hours alone. Most, or 140 of them, were aged 65 and above.
Among
these patients, 114 had no vaccine jabs, 25 had one vaccine dose, 13 had two
doses while 1 had three doses.
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Dr Lee
said the patient who received a booster shot was an 81-year-old man living in
Fung Yiu King Hospital for the elderly who previously had a stroke. He was
suffering from Parkinson’s disease and high blood pressure.
The 76
additional deaths were recorded between Feb 24 and Mar 3. They were made up of
44 males and 32 females aged 24 to 105 years old.
According to Lee, the youngest fatality received two vaccine doses, with the second jab being administered in August last year. He was found unconscious at home and was rushed to Tseung Kwan O Hospital where he was found to have an irregular heartbeat. Efforts to revive him failed and he died on Feb 28.
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In
addition, Au reported four patients who died of Covid-19 but were not
hospitalized. They comprised two males and two females who died between Feb 23
and Feb 28.
The death toll
from the fifth wave has now gone up to 1,794, representing 0.39% of all
infections. The fatalities are made up of 1,103 males and 691 females, aged 11
months to 108 years old.
A big
percentage (94.5%) of all deaths involved patients who were aged 60 and above,
although four were kids below 10 years old. Well over half, or 68.4%, were
aged 80 and above.
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More than
1,500 had chronic illnesses while more than 1,000 lived in care homes.
According
to Au, 94 additional residential care homes reported Covid-19 outbreaks, 73 of
them involving homes for the elderly, while the remaining 21 were facilities
for the disabled.
In the latest
outbreak, 694 residents were reportedly affected as well as 150 staff.
So far,
662 residential care homes, or 83% of the total, have experienced outbreaks affecting
both residents and staff.
The
Department of Health has mobilized medical teams to visit the facilities and
administer vaccines to those who have yet to get vaccinated to protect them
from the coronavirus.
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| Lee says 8,827 hospital staff have been infected with Covid-19 |
As for public hospital staff, Lee said a total of 8,827 have so far tested positive for Covid-19. Around 1,341 of them have already returned to
work.
Meanwhile, a total of
7,778 patients are being treated in public hospitals while around 2,000 others
with mild symptoms are at the Penny’s Bay isolation facility.
Fifty-seven
of those in hospital are in critical condition, 42 of whom received no
vaccination. A further 123 patients are in serious condition, including 79 who
were not vaccinated.
Au again
said there was no new information as to when the online platform for reporting
positive RAT results would be set up. But the public will be informed
immediately when it becomes available.
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