People walk inside the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong on Oct 3, 2022. (PETER PARKS / AFP)

HONG KONG – The health authorities of Hong Kong on Friday registered total 4,369 cases of COVID-19, including 3,983 locally transmitted ones, and two related deaths.

The new cases, which also include 386 imported cases, put the daily caseload above the 4,000 mark for the second consecutive day. On Thursday, the city registered 4,318 new infections including 3,993 locally transmitted cases, while the number of new cases was 3,642 the previous day. 

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Of the locally acquired cases, 1,046 were confirmed by nucleic acid tests while the rest 2,937 through rapid antigen tests (RATs), according to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health.

Hong Kong has so far recorded 959,183 and 832,841 cases testing positive by nucleic acid tests and RATs respectively for COVID-19

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority said in a statement that 1,628 patients, including 198 new ones, who tested positive for coronavirus are currently undergoing treatments at different public hospitals.

There are 35 patients who are in critical condition and 16 in serious condition, the HA, said, adding that there are three newly reported critical patients and two newly reported serious patients.

The city has so far recorded total 959,183 and 832,841 cases testing positive by nucleic acid tests and RATs respectively for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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Among the specimens received by the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch during Sept 28 to Oct 4 for verification testing of local cases, about 2.2 percent and 93.4 percent of them are related to the sub-lineages BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 of the Omicron mutant strain respectively, added the CHP.