Health authorities reported 27,647 new positive cases in Hong Kong on Saturday, compared to 29,381 new infections on Friday and 31,402 new cases on Thursday. 198 new deaths were also reported in the past 24 hours.
Hong Kong reported 27,647 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with city leader Carrie Lam saying the outbreak has not yet peaked, despite the recent daily number of cases leveling off somewhat.
Health authorities reported 27,647 new positive cases in Hong Kong on Saturday, compared to 29,381 new infections on Friday and 31,402 new cases on Thursday. 198 new deaths were also reported in the past 24 hours.
“At this point, we cannot safely say that we have passed the peak,” Lam told reporters.
Lam added that mainland China’s fresh food supplies had largely recovered to previous levels after panic buying led to the emptying of some supermarket shelves in recent weeks.
The global financial center has recorded nearly 650,000 COVID-19 infections and a total of about 3,500 deaths since early 2020, most of them in the past two weeks.
Hong Kong, like mainland China, has adopted a “dynamic zero” strategy that aims to curb infections with strict containment measures, even as most other major cities are learning to live with the virus. The approach of China and Hong Kong has been severely tested by the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
Hong Kong recorded the most deaths per million people worldwide in the week to March 9, according to data publication Our World in Data. Most are unvaccinated seniors.
Xia Baolong, a senior Chinese official overseeing affairs in Hong Kong who helped coordinate Beijing’s response to help Hong Kong contain the outbreak, was quoted by the China News Agency as saying that the situation was still serious and told residents to prepare mentally for a “prolonged war”.
He added that the government had to work carefully and strengthen interdepartmental coordination.
Responding to the comments, Lam said: “I can assure him … that we are doing everything we can to fight this epidemic”, while rejecting the view that the Hong Kong government was not working effectively and unanimously to fight the outbreak. .