People rest on benches in a park at Tai Hing Estate in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, March 4, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 1,860 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, an increase from the previous day's 1,650, as a cluster involving a restaurant in Tuen Mun grew to 37.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said in a news briefing that the new cases comprised 1,721 local infections and 139 imported ones. There was no new reported death as the city’s toll stood at 9,185 during the fifth wave.

Around 270 patrons who dined at  Victoria Harbour Restaurant in Tuen Mun  after 6 pm on June 16 will need to undergo mandatory quarantine, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection

Chuang said the cluster at Victoria Harbour Restaurant grew by 10, including seven patrons and three close contacts. The patrons dined there after 6 pm on June 16.

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“Around 270 patrons who dined at the restaurant during the period will need to undergo mandatory quarantine,” Chuang said.

All of the 10 patients, aged six to 29, were suspected to have the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1. 

Chuang added that health authorities have taken 19 environmental samples at the restaurant and all tested negative. Authorities are still investigating the source of the outbreak.

Eleven other local cases were also suspected to involve the highly-transmissible BA.2.12.1 subvariant, including six whose source of origin remains unknown, Chuang said.

The other cases involved patients who live in Tuen Mun, Tseung Kwan O, Abderdeen, Tsin Shui Wai, Quarry Bay and Shau Kei Wan.

Chuang also said 164 students and 35 staff members from 163 schools reported being infected. 

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Hospital Authority Chief Manager Sara Ho said in the same briefing that 552 COVID-19 patients were being treated in public hospitals, including 100 new patients.  

Ten were in critical condition, including two in intensive care units, while 11 were in serious condition, Ho added. 

Ho noted that despite the increase in the number of COVID-19 patients being admitted to the hospital, most of them developed mild symptoms and the number of serious cases remained stable.