April 12, 2022
HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported 1,407 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, a drop from the 1,921 infections on Sunday, as the government banned Emirates fights from Dubai and Bangkok for one week.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said in a news briefing that the new cases comprised 13 imported infections and 1,394 local cases.
She said 698 infections were confirmed through nucleic acid tests and 709 by rapid antigen tests.
The imported cases included four travelers from Bangkok and one from Singapore while eight others were detected at quarantine hotels
The imported cases included four travelers from Bangkok and one from Singapore while eight others were detected at quarantine hotels, she added.
A passenger flight (EK384) operated by Emirates arrived in Hong Kong from Dubai via Bangkok on April 10 with three passengers who tested positive upon arrival.
Due to this, Emirates flights from Dubai and Bangkok are prohibited from landing in Hong Kong from April 12 to 18.
Chuang said that, as of Sunday, the voluntary mass RAT self-testing has identified more than 2,800 infections, with 65 percent of these cases being asymptomatic.
“We managed to identify 2,800 plus cases. Each case could have sparked another transmission chain in the community so, of course, (the RAT testing) definitely helps in controlling the epidemic,” Chuang said.
“The RAT has been successful in identifying positive cases that were asymptomatic,” she added.
Chuang said the total number of cases identified during the three-day exercise will be available on Tuesday.
Larry Lee Lap-yip, chief manager (Integrated Clinical Services) of the Hospital Authority, said at the same briefing that 52 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 died in the last 24 hours, including 25 men and 27 women.
He said 26 of them came from residential care homes while 33 did not have a vaccination record.
One of those who died was a 61-year-old woman who had lung cancer. She tested positive for the virus in early April and was brought to a hospital on April 8 after she showed signs of pneumonia. She passed away on Sunday afternoon.
Lee said there were also five patients–four men and one woman—who passed away on Saturday but their deaths were not reported earlier.
He added that 60 patients were being treated in hospital intensive care units while 13 patients were also in serious condition.
Hong Kong has so far recorded a total of 8,827 deaths that have been linked to COVID-19, the government said.