Two women sit on a bench overlooking the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on Sept 29, 2022. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported a total of 7,547 new COVID infections as 13 more patients passed away on Tuesday, health authorities said.

Tuesday’s new cases comprised 6,957 locally acquired infections and 590 imported cases, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said in a statement.

The imported infections on Tuesday included 415 (70.3 percent) identified at Hong Kong International Airport, 138 (23.4 percent) from days 1 to 3, and 37 (6.3 percent) between day 4 and day 7.

Tuesday marked the fifth consecutive day that the city recorded a decrease in its daily COVID caseload. There were 9,219 cases on Thursday before it hovered above 8,000 until Monday, when the city logged 7,793 coronavirus infections.

The imported infections on Tuesday included 415 (70.3 percent) identified at Hong Kong International Airport, 138 (23.4 percent) from days 1 to 3, and 37 (6.3 percent) between day 4 and day 7.

As of Tuesday, the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch (PHLSB) had identified 224 cases of sub-lineage XBB, six of XBD, eight of BA.2.75.2, seven of BA.4.6, 13 of BF.7 and 34 of BQ.1.1 among imported cases.

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Also, 91 cases of sub-lineage XBB, 16 of XBD, one of BA.2.75.2, two of BF.7 and 104 of BQ.1.1 were detected among local infections.

Meanwhile, about 73.9 percent (seven-day moving average) of local specimens received by the PHLSB from Nov 20 to 26 for verification were related to the Omicron sub-variant BA.4 or BA.5 (including suspected cases), according to the CHP.

The 13 new deaths brought the city’s toll during the current wave of infections to 10,518, or to 10,731 since the pandemic began in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Joe Wong Chi-cho has tested positive through a rapid antigen test, said a spokesman for the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

The spokesman added that Wong contracted COVID-19 back in Sept this year but he had fully recovered.