February 28, 2022
HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported a record high of 26,026 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday as a health official said infections were expected to continue to rise as the city grapples with its worst coronavirus outbreak.
Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said the new cases included 26,019 local infections and seven imported cases. On Saturday, 17,063 cases were detected.
The city’s tally of confirmed cases stood at 164,981, of which 151,614 infections were detected during the current fifth wave of infections
“Indeed, we are very worried because (we have) over 26,000 cases today. That’s very worrying. And in the past few days, the number exceeded 10,000 everyday. It ranged out from 10,000 to 20,000,” Au said.
“And today, it has reached another peak. If you look at the trend in the past few weeks, actually the case number is still on the rise. Therefore, we expect that within the foreseeable future, there will still be a rising trend,” he added.
The city’s tally of confirmed cases stood at 171,314, of which 158,683 infections were detected during the current fifth wave of infections.
“We ask you all to stay at home as far as possible. Please reduce your social activities as much as possible. If you don’t feel well, get tested,” Au said.
Lau Ka-hin, chief manager (quality and standards) of the Hospital Authority, said 83 patients, aged 19 to 100 years old, passed away in the last 24 hours. They included 53 males and 30 females.
Of the 83 patients who died, only 13 were vaccinated, Lau said, adding that 67 of the patients who died came from residential care homes for the elderly.
Lau also said that the 19-year-old patient who died was a resident of a residential care home for persons with disability. He had a chronic illness and was intubated.
Lau also said that there were 27 deaths that were not reported earlier.