There were 18 new locally confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong

Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, January 21 (Reporter Liu Mingyang) The Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced on the 21st that as of 00:00 on the same day, there were 24 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in Hong Kong, of which 6 were imported cases, two of the 18 local cases had an unknown source of infection, and the number of new local confirmed cases hit a new single-day high since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic, and more than 20 cases were initially confirmed.

According to reports, two local patients with unknown source of infection on that day, including a 24-year-old man, lived in Cheung Sha Wan Estate; another 37-year-old man lived in Ming Yi Ju, Tsuen Wan. The new local cases on the same day related to the earlier confirmed cases involved multiple cohorts, among which there was a large-scale mass infection in Kwai Ngai Lou, Kwai Chung Estate, and there are currently at least 20 confirmed and preliminarily confirmed cases.

In view of the large-scale cluster outbreak in Yi Kui Lou, the SAR Government announced on the 21st that it would seal Yi Kui Lou for testing for 5 days, and the operation began from 6 p.m. on the same day to the morning of the 26th. About 2,700 residents of the building are tested daily and stay at home after testing in order to identify latent cases and block the chain of transmission. People who have visited Yi Kwai Lou for 2 hours or more in the past two weeks will need to undergo 6 tests.

In response to the latest development of the epidemic, the HKSAR Government announced the cancellation of the Che Gong Market scheduled to be held in Sha Tin during the Spring Festival. Earlier, the HKSAR Government had announced the cancellation of lunar new year festivals such as the Lunar New Year's Eve market to reduce the gathering of people.

In addition, the Education Bureau of the HKSAR Government announced that the "Vaccine Bubble" will cover schools from 24 February, and all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, cram school staff, service providers and visitors must present at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination records before entering schools. Arrangements do not apply to students. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority has also decided to implement the "Vaccine Bubble" from 16 February, and all HA staff must present their COVID-19 vaccination records when entering HA facilities, including administrative offices, hospitals and clinics.

Statistics show that from the official launch of the COVID-19 vaccination programme on 26 February 2021 to 20 January 2022, a total of about 5.197 million residents in Hong Kong have received the first dose of the vaccine, accounting for 77.2% of the number of eligible free vaccinations; about 4.736 million residents have received the second dose of the vaccine, accounting for 70.3% of the eligible free vaccinations.

With effect from 11 November 2021, eligible Hong Kong residents will receive a third dose of covid-19 vaccine free of charge, with 737067 so far.

Source: Xinhua Net