Number of people testing positive expected to remain high for now; low possibility of retesting positive within 3-6 months.
City
Emergency cases quadruple to 1,200; retired nurses and intern doctors mobilised while ambulances ferry patients round the clock.
Deceased, aged from 79 to 103, all suffered from underlying health problems; government cancels mandatory NATs for frontline workers.
Residents urged to use electronic means whenever possible, or make appointment in advance if physical visit essential.
Mainland China’s Covid-19 expert Liang Wannian says lowering disease category does not mean leaving the virus to run rampant and is aimed at controlling outbreaks more precisely and scientifically.
Health workers struggle to carry out their jobs in face of pandemic; up to 40% of staff at Kiang Wu Hospital and about a quarter of all public health service employees affected.
Health officials say more than 23,000 Covid-19 patients attended to at city’s 15 clinics since 12 December.
New directive focuses on “treatment” rather than “prevention” after nearly three years of sticking to a very strict zero-Covid policy.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao says one quarter of local hospital workers have also tested positive and city’s contagion will peak this or next week.