The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong has been hovering around 10,000 for several days. The CHP expects that the upward trend will continue in the short term. It also pointed out that some citizens who were infected in February and March this year and have not been vaccinated once morest the new crown pneumonia, their immunity is declining with time. It is expected to affect the daily number of confirmed cases. A survey by a patient organization found that 12% of the elderly or family members surveyed were reluctant to report a positive rapid test result, for reasons including being admitted to an isolation center and believing that the symptoms were mild. The authorities reiterated their hope that citizens who test positive will be reported quickly so that follow-up measures and early treatment can be arranged.
The number of confirmed cases in a single day increased by 10,683 yesterday, including 193 imported cases. The total number of cases has exceeded 10,000 in the first 4 days of this month. 8 more patients died yesterday, 4 of whom were from institutions, including an 82-year-old man who was admitted to the Temporary Care Center of Siu Sai Wan Sports Centre on the 27th of last month. He was admitted to the hospital last Thursday (1st) due to shortness of breath and sore throat; another The cause of death of the three people is believed by the Hospital Authority to be less directly related to the new crown pneumonia.
The CHP found that the proportion of suspected mutated virus strains Omicron BA.4 or BA.5 has continued to rise to 64.4%, of which BA.5 and BA.2.2 are 56.7% and 29.3%, respectively, reflecting that BA.5 has gradually become mainstream. Au Jiarong, chief doctor of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Centre, said that BA.5 with high transmission power will increase the chain of community transmission. He also pointed out that Hong Kong has increased from regarding 5,000 cases per day in the middle of last month to nearly 10,000 cases per day in just two weeks. He described the recent sustained uptrend as less than an “explosive uptick” in February and March, but expected it to continue in the short term.
There is no evidence that the epidemic has entered a “platform period”
Ou Jiarong also said that the government sewage monitoring has recorded more than 500,000 copies of virus per liter for 5 consecutive days, which has returned to the level in March. 1.35, he pointed out that the epidemic situation can be eased only if the ratio is less than 1, and he appealed to the public not to relax and to get injections as soon as possible. He revealed that the fatality rate of non-injection patients over the age of 60 was 7.83%, a difference of 56 and 196 times compared with the rates of 3 and 4 injections, respectively.
The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, commissioned by the Association for the Advancement of Patient Healthcare and Rights, interviewed 664 people aged 60 or above in the middle of last month, and found that 12% of the interviewed elderly or family members did not report positive results of the rapid test, and 47% believed that the symptoms would be mild. 10% also think that the 60-69-year-old group and the “three high” people are not high-risk groups. Zeng Qiyin, a specialist in infectious diseases and infectious diseases, said that the reasons for the elderly not reporting include fear of mandatory isolation and not wanting to affect their family members.
Authorities have not received an application from a pharmaceutical company for approval of a new generation of vaccines
Au Jiarong responded that the public has always been advised to report the positive results of the rapid test, so that the authorities can make follow-up arrangements, such as issuing isolation orders, quarantine orders, etc. to the patients, and the information will also be submitted to the HA at the same time, so that services such as video consultation can be arranged as soon as possible . He went on to say that the government’s quick-test positive reporting hotline 1836119 receives dozens of reports every day. He appealed to citizens who are not savvy with the Internet to call the hotline and leave a contact phone number through the automatic system. Staff will contact them later. Assist in reporting. The chief administrative manager of the Hospital Authority, Li Liye, also said that the most important part of the report is that there are medical and nursing associations who contact high-risk or elderly patients, reiterating that if they receive early treatment and take oral new crown drugs, the hospitalization rate can be reduced.
Zeng Qiyin predicts that the epidemic in Hong Kong will peak within this month, but calls on the elderly to vaccinate the existing vaccines as soon as possible and not wait for the new generation or bivalent vaccines to be supplied to Hong Kong. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week approved Pfizer and Moderna’s new bivalent vaccines for BA.4 and BA.5, respectively. Ou Jiarong said that the government has not received any application for approval of vaccines from relevant pharmaceutical companies. Ko Wing-man, a member of the Executive Council and former food and health secretary, said yesterday that the government is very reluctant to tighten social distancing measures, but cannot rule out any possibility. He also said that 40% of non-emergency services in public hospitals are currently affected. In general, “letting go” once the vaccination rate reaches a certain level. He also did not name and criticize some experts and scholars, focusing on when the remaining epidemic prevention measures might be relaxed, advocating herd immunity, etc., rather than emphasizing that public hospitals were regarding to collapse or confuse the public, and reiterated that the more authoritative experts, the more authoritative experts need to understand that every statement “speaks” What is the purpose of the outgoing system?”
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/local/More than 10,000 confirmed cases – expected to continue to rise – Center for Protection urges those infected – Morning Post Morning Doctor -/336884?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
