Coronavirus Hong Kong: 3.6 million residents infected and nearly 1 million more cases to come, university team says
- University of Hong Kong’s faculty of medicine predicts 4.5 million residents will catch virus during fifth wave
- Government to close public beaches from Thursday after residents spotted violating social-distancing rules, source says
A source familiar with government policy told the Post on Tuesday that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor could announce the beach closures as soon as Wednesday, after stating earlier that current rules banning public gatherings were already tough enough.
“Too many people have gone to the beach unmasked and pictures have also shown a lot of them had ignored the ban on gatherings of more than two people,” the source said, adding that the move would only affect the 42 beaches managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
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No respite for Covid cases in Hong Kong as infections surge in mainland China
Hong Kong on Tuesday confirmed 27,765 new coronavirus cases – including 15,809 infections detected using rapid antigen tests – and reported 289 deaths, including backlogged numbers.
The city’s overall Covid-19 tally stood at 761,550, but health officials said the number did not reflect the actual situation as asymptomatic patients might remain untested.
The latest update to the infection forecast made by the University of Hong Kong’s faculty of medicine estimated that 3.6 million resident were infected and 4.5 million would catch Covid-19 during the entire fifth wave, while the death toll would reach 5,102. The number of fatalities since the wave began in late December stood at 4,355.
It projected a significant drop in the number of daily cases towards the end of March, with the daily caseload expected to fall below 1,000 by the end of April and to below 100 by mid-May.
