HONG KONG (REUTERS) – Hong Kong is facing its toughest battle yet in containing the coronavirus, with the fourth wave of the epidemic more severe and spreading more rapidly than the previous three, a top health official said on Saturday (Jan 30).
The city reported 69 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, a drop from 100 new cases the day before but still among the highest daily tallies since the pandemic began early last year.
The financial hub reported its first local COVID-19 case in more than two months last week, and has since confirmed more than 240 infections.
“The fourth wave of the epidemic is definitely the most severe and the most difficult one,” Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, told a news conference.
“The virus is spreading very fast. We knew from the experience in many other countries that, once the virus starts to spread in the community it’s very difficult to contain it,” she added.
Chuang said the number of unlinked cases is rising, as is the number of cases with unknown sources of infection, suggesting that there may be hidden transmission chains in the community.
“We also have a number of cases who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past, but now they are infected again,” she said.
“This indicates that the virus is still circulating in the community and people are still getting infected,” she added.
Chuang urged the public to stay home and avoid unnecessary gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Feb 12.
“This is the most important festival for Hong Kong people. We would like to see our families and friends during the holiday, but this time we need to sacrifice and stay home,” she said.
Hong Kong has reported around 10,400 infections and 170 deaths from the coronavirus since the pandemic began.
The city has tightened social distancing measures in recent weeks, including closing gyms, cinemas and bars, and limiting the number of people allowed to gather in public places.
The government has also launched a mass testing programme, with more than 1.7 million people tested so far.
Chuang said the mass testing programme has helped to identify infected people who would not have been found otherwise, but she warned that it is not a “silver bullet”.
“Mass testing is not enough to contain the epidemic. We still need to rely on social distancing measures and personal hygiene,” she said..
