Coronavirus: Hong Kong turns corner in fifth wave with 946 new infections, daily caseload below 4 digits for first time in more than 2 months
- Home vaccination scheme for elderly and disabled set to launch, with applications to open on Tuesday
- City leader Carrie Lam will not hold regular Covid-19 briefing on Saturday as case numbers dip below 1,000
Hong Kong has turned the corner in its battle against a crippling fifth wave of Covid-19, with its daily infection total falling below 1,000 for the first time in more than two months and the city’s leader deciding to stop holding the regular pandemic briefings that she began at the height of the health crisis.
Health authorities confirmed 946 new infections on Friday, 11 of which were imported and the rest locally transmitted. The total marked the first time it dipped below four digits since February 10, when 986 infections were confirmed.
Authorities also reported 67 Covid-19-linked deaths, including 31 backlogged cases. The city’s overall case tally since the pandemic began stood at 1,196,284, with 9,069 fatalities.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would stop holding her regular Covid-19 briefings from Saturday, her office announced on Friday afternoon. She had previously said she would stop giving regular updates to the public if daily caseloads dropped into the hundreds, as that meant the city’s fifth wave of infections had stabilised.
Lam would continue to meet the press before the Executive Council meeting every Tuesday, starting from April 26.
Asked if the Centre for Health Protection considered Friday’s three-digit caseload to be high, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the assessment depended on what the figure was compared with.
