Coronavirus: Hong Kong logs record 198 deaths, over 27,000 Covid cases; city leader ‘cautious’ on whether infection numbers have peaked
- Health official urges public to remain vigilant, comply with anti-epidemic curbs as cases detected during lockdowns remain steady
- From Monday, those who report positive results on government’s online portal will receive a verification link to upload proof of identity and testing
![A health official has warned the public to stay vigilant despite the downward trend in coronavirus cases. Photo: Yik Yeung-man](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2022/03/12/7b352ce6-c7f0-46fa-9863-af919b8bf163_37777a02.jpg?itok=9pY95KE9&v=1647076885)
City leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor cautioned against premature optimism that infection numbers had peaked, adding that she “could not comfortably say” that was the case. Nor was she willing to commit to a time frame on when the government expected to get the raging fifth wave of infections under control. She called such a promise “not very scientific”.
“We will closely monitor the coming days to see if we are experiencing a drop in confirmed cases, especially under the self-declaration system which counts those who tested positive through the rapid antigen kit,” she told a press briefing.
“Although some experts have said that perhaps we have passed the peak, we’d rather take a very cautious stance.”
Officials confirmed 27,647 new Covid-19 cases, including 11,858 positive results reported on a new government online portal by infected residents using rapid antigen test (RAT) kits.
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