Hong Kong logs 4,123 new COVID-19 cases

People walk past a government's QR code for the LeaveHomeSafe COVID 19 mobile app at a shopping mall in Hong Kong on July 12, 2022, and walk past a QR code for the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app. The infections included 262 imported cases and 3,783 local infections, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease branch.

Tuesday's figure is almost the same as the 4,040 cases reported on Monday.

There are many chains of transmission in the community. Chuang said that Omicron is highly transmissible.

She said there were infections involving the Omicron subvariants BA. 12 percent of the new infections were caused by 5.

Of the 262 imported cases, 140 were detected during airport screening, 94 at quarantine hotels and 28 after quarantine, Chuang said.

Thirty-eight came from the United Kingdom, 35 from India, 27 from the United States, 23 from the Philippines, 15 from France, 13 from Singapore and 12 from Thailand. The rest came from 40 other countries.

Chuang said 280 schools had reported 330 students and 71 teaching staff members being infected. Eight schools in Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Tung Chung, Yuen Long, Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, Tai Po, and Sha Tin had to suspend some in-person classes for one week after cases were detected, but there were no major outbreaks.

She said three residential care homes for the elderly and persons with disabilities had new infections.

Two men and a woman aged 87 to 93 years old were reported to have died, according to Chief Manager Clinical Effectiveness and Technology Management of the Hospital Authority.

They had underlying illnesses like hypertension and diabetes, and two of them did not get a single vaccine jab against the coronaviruses, Kwan said.

She said 1,546 COVID patients were being treated in public hospitals, including 195 new patients. Twenty-seven were in critical condition, including eight receiving intensive care, while 21 were in serious condition.

READ MORE: HK logs 4,123 new cases, suspends classes at the nursery school.

The existing social distancing measures will be extended until August 24th, according to a statement by the government.

It noted that the number of daily new cases in Hong Kong remains high at four-digit figures, with the overall number of hospitalised patients consistently exceeding 1,000 without signs of a downward trend.

All scheduled and catering premises are allowed to continue operating subject to strict compliance with the requirements including the use of the Vaccine Pass and LeaveHomeSafe app.

Other requirements, such as mask-wearing for citizens in transport carriers and specified public places, as well as the prohibition of group gatherings in public places, remain in force.