Coronavirus: Hong Kong cases pass 20,000 mark, as residents continue to snap up pain-relief drugs
- Health officials report 20,252 infections, 924 of which are imported, and 46 additional deaths
- Residents scrambling to get pain-relief and fever medicine leaves shelves empty at pharmacies
Hong Kong’s daily coronavirus cases passed the 20,000 mark on Friday, a figure not seen since March, as residents continued to snap up pain-relief and fever medicine, leaving shelves empty at pharmacies and vulnerable residents in distress.
Health officials reported 20,252 new coronavirus cases, 924 of which were imported, and 46 additional deaths, bringing the city’s tally to 2,442,195 cases and 11,373 fatalities.
The city logged 21,650 infections on March 17, the month the city’s fifth wave of Covid-19 reached its peak. On March 9, authorities recorded 58,757 cases.
Many residents have been scrambling to get pain-relief and fever medicine in recent weeks, including those hoping to send them to friends and relatives in mainland China, which is experiencing a surge in infections.
Ivan Lin Wai-kiu, a community organiser at the Society for Community Organization (SoCO), said underprivileged residents in Sham Shui Po, one of Hong Kong’s poorest districts, were hit hard by a recent surge in flu cases, as many were unable to book a doctor’s appointment at government clinics or buy medicine from pharmacies.
“Some are very sick and have to see a doctor, but they could not [book an appointment],” Lin said. “We tried our best to help them with the booking. Some will have to wait for a week to see a doctor, and by then they will have already recovered.”
He urged authorities to increase clinic services by offering more time slots for bookings to ensure the most vulnerable could get timely treatment and medicine.
