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Published: 18:18, September 15, 2022 | Updated: 18:38, September 15, 2022
HK logs 8,187 new COVID-19 cases, six deaths
By Wang Zhan
Published:18:18, September 15, 2022 Updated:18:38, September 15, 2022 By Wang Zhan

People wearing face masks walk out of the subway at Hung Hom in Hong Kong, south China, Aug 13, 2020. (WANG SHEN / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 8,187 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday while six more elderly patients passed away, bringing the city’s toll during the fifth wave to 9,623.

At a news briefing, Albert Au, principle medical and health officer of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, refuted recent claims by a medical expert that COVID-19 is just another type of flu

Albert Au, principle medical and health officer of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, said at a news briefing that the new cases comprised 8,023 local infections and 164 imported ones.

Of the imported cases, 58 were detected at the airport, 64 at quarantine hotels while 42 in the community. The imported cases came from 38 countries, including the UK, the US, Thailand, India and Singapore where more than 10 cases were reported.

He added that 664 schools reported a total of 1,064 new cases, affecting 893 students and 171 teaching staff. A total of 13 classes saw tiny clusters and has suspended face-to-face lessons.

ALSO READ: HK logs 7,579 new COVID-19 cases, 10 more elderly deaths

Fourteen residential care homes for the elderly and persons with disabilities reported a total of 17 cases, Au said.

Au refuted recent claims by a medical expert that COVID-19 is just another type of flu.

He said the more than 1.57 million people Hong Kong have been infected with COVID-19 in the fifth wave of the pandemic, during which the Omicron variant was dominant.

“More than 9,500 people have died so far during the fifth wave, representing a mortality rate of 0.6 percent,” Au said. “The mortality rate for the seasonal flu is roughly 0.1 percent,” he added.

Au also said that COVID patients developed more severe symptoms than those infected with flu, in particular in unvaccinated young children and the elderly.

Among the patients who died during the fifth wave were eight children, he said.

Sara Ho, chief manager (Patient Safety and Risk Management) of the Hospital Authority, said at the same briefing that six more COVID-19 patients had died over the past 24 hours, bringing the toll during the fifth wave to 9,623.

They were two men and four women aged between 73 and 95. Five of them had not completed the vaccination course, Ho added.

READ MORE: HK sees 9,787 new COVID-19 infections, 8 deaths

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