In this picture taken on March 30, 2022, people walk through a train station in Hong Kong. (DALE DE LA REY / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 4,475 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, a significant drop from the 5,823 cases recorded on Friday, bringing the infection tally in the financial hub to 1.15 million.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said in a news briefing that the new infections comprised 18 imported cases and 4,457 local ones.

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Chuang said 2,286 of the cases were confirmed through nucleic acid tests and 2,189 by rapid antigen tests. It marked the first time since Feb 18 for the city's daily infection count to drop below 5,000.

The 18 imported infections involved travelers from the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Thailand, and the Netherlands as well as two aircrew members from the United States.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, clarified that no cases of the Omicron “XE” variant have been detected in Hong Kong yet

Thirteen of them arrived in the city on April 1 while the remaining five had arrived earlier.

Four travelers on board Emirates flight EK 384 tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport. The government has, therefore, suspended the landing of Emirates flights in Hong Kong from Dubai and Bangkok between April 3 and 9 under the flight suspension mechanism.

Chuang also clarified that no cases of the Omicron “XE” variant have been detected in Hong Kong yet.

On Friday, she said experts from the University of Hong Kong had discovered back in February that two inbound travelers carried the “XE” variant – a recombinant of the BA.1 and BA.2 mutant strains.

She clarified on Saturday that both travelers carried a blend of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains, which was not the same mix identified in the "XE" Omicron hybrid.

The authorities have not found any more community cases involving the recombinant, she stressed.

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The total number of COVID-19 deaths in Hong Kong's fifth wave of the pandemic rose to 7,848, with the mortality rate rising to 0.68 percent, according to Chuang.

Sarah Ho, chief manager (patient safety and risk management) of the Hospital Authority, said 99 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 passed away in the last 24 hours, including 59 men and 40 women aged 47 to 109 years old.

She said 42 were from residential care home and 57 were unvaccinated. Four younger patients aged between 47 and 59 who passed away all had cancer.

There were also 17 deaths involving eight men and nine women between March 3 and 31 that were not reported earlier, Ho said.

She added that 15 critical patients were being treated in hospital intensive care units while 27 patients were in serious condition.