Health authorities say kids can get jabs in time, add 9,787 Covid cases on Mid-Autumn

Hong Kong reported 9,787 Covid-19 infections at Mid-Autumn Festival on Saturday as health authorities remained positive that parents can vaccinate their kids in time for the latest Vaccine Pass arrangement.

Among the new infections, 2,277 were confirmed via PCR tests, and 7,325 were verified with positive RAT results. Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection also logged 185 imported cases – 81 detected at the airport, 53 in quarantine hotels, and 51 in local communities.

Hospital Authority’s chief manager for integrated clinical services Larry Lee Lap-yip added eight deaths, involving two men and six women aged 21 to 99. Three had yet to receive the booster, and five deaths were associated with Covid.

The death tally of the fifth wave now stands at 9,575.

Chuang said it depends on citizens’ vaccine choice when asked if children in the city couldn’t meet the vaccination requirements by the end of the month for the Vaccine Pass age adjustment.

She suggested citizens vaccinate their kids according to health experts’ preferred schedule and believed the kids can get the jabs in time.

On another note, Chuang reminded Hongkongers to stay vigilant when enjoying the festival with families. She recommended people take a RAT before heading to private gatherings and admitted it remains difficult for the CHP to estimate if the infection figures will rise later.

Ten elderly homes and care centers for the disabled were hit by Covid, including nine residents and a worker.

The CHP also suspended 17 classes from 16 schools for a week.

The latest analysis showed that the Omicron subvariant BA.5 took up about 66 percent of the overall cases and the BA.4 subvariant at 8.6 percent.

Public facilities are now housing 2,689 Covid patients. Among them, 53 are in critical condition, and another 53 are in serious condition. Sixteen are currently staying in hospital intensive care units.

As of Saturday, 386 patients have recovered from Covid, and 347 have been discharged.
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