People visit a promenade next to Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on March 14, 2022. (DALE DE LA REY / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 14,068 new COVID-19 cases on Monday as a health official noted that there were no new infections reported in the city’s residential care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities. 

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said in a news briefing that the new cases included five imported cases  and 14,063 local infections.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said in a news briefing that the new cases included five imported infections and 14,063 local cases

She said 4,523 cases were confirmed through nucleic acid tests and 9,545 by rapid antigen tests.

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The imported infections came from India, Bahrain, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, she added. 

Chuang said that most of the patients at residential care homes may have either been vaccinated or had been exposed to the virus. 

“We have not reported any new institution reporting cases and so this is a good sign. The reason maybe is that the overall situation has stabilized in the past few days,” Chuang said, adding that the CHP would continue to monitor the situation.

The residential care homes have been among the worst hit sectors by the fifth wave of infections in the city.

Chuang said 33,758 residents of elderly care homes (45 percent of the total) 8,660 residents of care homes for persons with disabilities (47 percent) got infected.

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She also said that there were 223 new deaths recorded on Monday, involving 179 patients who died on Sunday and 44 others who passed away earlier but whose deaths were not reported.

Larry Lee, chief manager (Integrated Clinical Services)  of the Hospital Authority, said in the same briefing that the 179 patients who died on Sunday included 102 men and 77 women aged 44 to 103 years old.

He added that 93 of them came from residential care homes while 115 were unvaccinated. 

The city’s public hospitals were also treating 43 patients in critical condition and 69 in serious condition, Lee said.

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