A woman walks to the departure hall of Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong Port Area on February 8, 2020. PHILIP FONG AFP HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is actively discussing the possibility of quarantine-free travel with the Chinese mainland, Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said on Wednesday.
Chan made a statement during a media session after he attended the Ante Chamber exchange session with members of the Legislative Council on Wednesday morning.
He said we will make an announcement at suitable occasions and we have been discussing with the mainland authorities how to resume the quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Cheuk Wing-hing said in the same media session that the government will conduct a comprehensive review of the city's hygiene and sanitation laws.
We will be looking at whether the existing legislations are adequate in terms of empowering government departments to carry out their duties, and the adequacy of penalties, as well as the adequacy of the penalty, said Cheuk. We will take a holistic view and propose changes to existing legislation if necessary, or even explore the possibility of enacting a new legislation. On Wednesday, Hong Kong had 5,757 new COVID 19 cases, including 194 imported infections, said Albert Au Ka-wing, the principal medical and health officer of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease branch.
He added that four new deaths were reported, bringing the city's death toll to 9,371 during the fifth wave.
We were looking at 3,000 -- 3,500 cases in July, and we saw an upward trend in July. The number stood at 5,000 last week. It went to 5,500 today, Au said.
ALSO READ: Hospital admissions are 'worrying', as HK logs 4,896 new virus cases.
Of the 194 imported cases, 89 were confirmed at the airport, 54 at quarantine hotels and 51 at community testing centers. There were more than 10 cases each from Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, India and the Philippines. The rest were from 38 other countries.
Four residential care homes reported infections while 48 schools reported 74 cases. Three kindergartens and a primary school suspended some classes due to infections.
Au said 24.5 percent of the new cases involved the Omicron subvariant BA. There were 5 percent, while 7.4 percent were linked to BA. In the same briefing, Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of quality and standards of the Hospital Authority, said 1,875 COVID patients were being treated in public hospitals as of Wednesday, including 273 new patients. Thirty-two were in critical condition, including 10 receiving intensive care and 33 in serious condition.
In addition to this, 80 percent of admitted COVID patients were older than 60 years old and above, Lau expressed concern about the increasing number of elderly patients.
The percentage is on the high side. He said that all elderly people should get vaccinated as soon as possible and complete the regimen.
Au said that 15,443 people aged 60 and above got infected with COVID 19 from Aug 1 -- 14, which is higher than the 12,898 elderly cases reported from July 18 -- 31.
Lau said that the four deaths included two men and two women aged 52 to 96 years old. Three of them had cancer and three of them did not complete their vaccination regimen.
He told cancer patients and other severely ill patients to get their vaccine shots to boost their immunity against the virus.