HK sees 16,597 new cases, reminds doctors of guidelines on issuing vaxx exemption certificate

Hong Kong reported 16,597 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday as authorities instructed doctors to issue vaccination exemption certificates according to existing guidelines.  

Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said of the new cases, 7,528 were confirmed through PCR tests, and 9,069 were rapid antigen test positive results reported by citizens. The official caseload of the fifth wave now stands at 1,021,910.  

Fourteen cases were imported from overseas, including 13 from Indonesia and one from Italy.  

Regarding the vaccination exemption certificate, Chuang said confirmed patients can show their quarantine orders issued by authorities to prove they were once infected with the coronavirus.  

Doctors can then refer to guidelines on the government vaccination program website and decide whether to issue an exemption certificate to their patients, Chuang pointed out.  

She added that the infection figures have been dropping and hoped the numbers accurately reflect the local communities' situation since some patients without symptoms may not undergo testing and remain hidden.  

Chuang continued that infection outbreaks were detected at four more elderly homes and one more care center for the disabled yesterday, involving 12 residents and 11 workers.  

Over the past two weeks, 270 elderly homes have reported infection outbreaks, involving 6,925 residents and 1,764 workers in total.  

Hospital Authority's chief manager for quality and standards, Lau Ka-hin, reported 182 deaths logged in the past 24 hours. He also reported 61 more deaths due to lagged results. The deceased patients aged from 30 to 109.  

Forensics also reported six deaths involving three men and three women aged 67 to 97. They all suffered from chronic diseases. Two of them passed away on March 8 and four the next day. Four tested positive for Covid during the autopsies, and two had tested positive earlier.  

The overall tally of the fifth wave now stands at 5,437. Eighty percent of the deceased patients were chronic disease patients, and 58 percent were residents of care centers.