Hong Kong sees record-breaking 614 infections

Hong Kong reported 614 Covid-19 infections on Monday, the highest daily number since the pandemic started over two years ago.

Only seven of the cases were imported infections. There are also around 600 preliminary positive cases.

The latest figure is a substantial jump from Sunday’s 342 infections.

The Centre for Health Protection’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said many of the untraceable cases involved people who provide frontline services, such as security guards and salespersons.

She also noted that a lot of the patients had been to gatherings over the Chinese New Year.

She added that authorities are probing whether there are vertical or horizontal transmissions in a number of residential blocks across the city, including some in Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai.

The centre’s controller, Edwin Tsui, said even though the pandemic is worsening, the government still has the ability to control the outbreak.

“We expect there will be more cases coming in a few days… Hopefully with all the social distancing measures [and our appeal] to members of the public not to gather, stay home… we hope with these measures and our current containment measures, we can still contain the disease,” he said.

“People must not give up trying to contain the virus. Let’s work hard together.”

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority (HA) said some low-risk patients who demonstrate no or mild symptoms will be sent to the Penny’s Bay isolation facility from Tuesday.

The HA’s chief manager of integrated clinical services, Larry Lee, said the move is needed to free up beds at public hospitals for patients with more serious symptoms.

Close contacts of Covid patients who’d previously be sent to Penny’s Bay for quarantine, meanwhile, would instead undergo home quarantine after authorities confirmed that their flats are suitable for isolation.

Lee also said two Covid patients – a 77-year old woman and an 80-year-old man – are currently in critical condition in hospital.