A water fountain in Tung Chung provides welcome relief from the heat for residents on July 24, 2022. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong recorded 4,979 new COVID-19 cases and three more elderly deaths on Sunday, health authorities said.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised 215 imported cases and 4,764 local infections.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised 215 imported cases and 4,764 local infections

The three new reported deaths brought the city’s toll during the fifth wave to 9,352, she added. Sunday's caseload was lower than the 5,308 infections recorded on Saturday.

ALSO READ: HK daily COVID-19 caseload tops 5,000 again, 3 patients die

Chuang said that of the 215 imported cases, 31 each came from India and the United Kingdom, 15 from the United States, 13 from Thailand, 12 from Pakistan, and 11 each came from Singapore and the Philippines. The rest were from 44 other countries.

According to preliminary data, 23.1 percent of new cases as of Aug 11 involved the Omicron subvariant BA.4 or BA.5, Chuang said, adding that BA.2.12.1 accounted for 7.3 percent.

Chuang also said that five residential care homes reported new infections.

Gladys Kwan, Chief Manager (Clinical Effectiveness and Technology management) of the Hospital Authority, said in the same briefing that the elderly patients who died included two men and a woman aged 80 to 89 years old. 

ALSO READ: HK daily COVID-19 caseload tops 5,000 again, 3 patients die

One had three vaccine jabs while the other two had no vaccination records. They also suffered from chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease.

The 89 year-old woman who had three jabs was found unconscious at home and had no vital signs when she was brought to the hospital. Her case was referred to the Coroner’s Court, Kwan said.

She added that 1,690 patients were being treated in public hospitals as of Sunday, including 31 in critical condition.

READ MORE: Shorter quarantine, ‘yellow’ health code for HK arrivals