Stand by for second Covid wave, warns dean

Hong Kong will almost definitely see a second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic around the Mid-Autumn Festival, government adviser Gabriel Leung says.

Leung, dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said yesterday he expected the second wave to hit around October 1 as a vaccine has yet to be developed.

He cited experience from seasonal flu with autumn and winter seasonal peaks for respiratory infectious diseases.

"People should brace themselves and not lower their guard," he said. "In the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, more people died in the second wave," he said.

Despite not recording a local infection for seven consecutive days, Leung said citizens should expect to see sporadic cases and keep wearing masks for the time being.

He also said health authorities should conduct tracking of all 1,108 patients in Hong Kong to trace the sources of infection.

"We have yet to locate the source of infection in the two latest local infection clusters in Lei Muk Shue Estate and Lek Yuen Estate. They prove there are silent transmission chains in the community," he said.

Leung said he agreed with the government's "suppress and lift" tactics for the pandemic, adding border controls, quarantine on arrivals and social distancing measures should not be relaxed altogether.

Meanwhile, Chinese University researchers have found that patients who recovered from Covid-19 suffer from an imbalance of bacteria in their digestive systems.

The research team examined stool samples from 15 patients, aged 20 to 70, in February and March.

"We've found they lack bacteria against virus replication in their intestines," said Ng Siew-Chien, associate director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research. "They generally have weaker immunity and are more likely to develop into serious condition."

The team came up with a formula involving probiotics to try to improve the patients' balance of good and bad bacteria in their guts to strengthen immunity or even guard them against Covid-19.

The team has applied for a patent in China and the United States.

Separately, citizens who have not obtained the government's washable CuMasks+ through online registration may collect the masks at post offices from next Monday to July 15.