Hong Kong sees more Covid deaths than Wuhan

The number of Covid-19 deaths in Hong Kong has surpassed that in the mainland city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak two years ago.

Hong Kong has reported 32,430 Covid cases on Sunday, including 13,335 cases confirmed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 19,095 by rapid antigen tests. 

An additional 264 cases of deaths were reported, including 190 who passed away the past 24 hours and another 74 cases whose reports were delayed. That took the total number of deaths in Hong Kong to 3,993, including 3,780 who died in the fifth wave of outbreak. 

Department of Health's principal medical and health officer Albert Au Ka-wing said the cumulative number of deaths in the city has already surpassed that in Wuhan – the later has seen a total of 3,869 since the outbreak started in the end of 2019. 

With 694,000 infections confirmed in the fifth wave so far, the fatality rate was 0.54 percent. The rate for the unvaccinated is 23 times higher than those who received two jabs. 

Those who died over the past 24 hours were aged between 39 and 105 years old. Among them, 115 came from elderly or disabled homes, and 124 never received any Covid vaccines. 

The 39-year-old man who died suffered from epilepsy and was wheelchair-bound. The other younger patients suffered from cancer or other chronic illnesses. 

Au also warned that citizens should not have the wrong impression that the pandemic has already come under control. 

The number of cases hover at around 30,000 over the past few days and there is no exponential increase. But the coronavirus remains highly active and transmissible, and the situation remains volatile, Au said.