The fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong stabilized, new local confirmed cases were below 300 for 20 consecutive days. On the afternoon of May 26, Ou Jiarong, chief physician of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, informed that as of 0:00 that day, 111 new cases were confirmed by nucleic acid testing in Hong Kong, and 140 new cases were positive for rapid antigen tests. A total of 251 new confirmed cases (including 36 imported cases) were added throughout the day, and 2 new deaths were added.
Ou Jiarong (left) reported the latest epidemic
So far, this round of epidemic has accumulated more than 1.19 million infections. A total of 1,198,707 people (including 748,989 confirmed nucleic acid test cases and 449,718 positive rapid test cases); a total of 9,161 deaths, with a case fatality rate of about 0.76%. According to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, a 67-year-old male patient and an 87-year-old female patient died in a public hospital in the past 24 hours after receiving two and three vaccine shots respectively.
Au Jiarong said that today (26th), 19 schools reported that 13 students and 7 staff tested positive, including 3 kindergartens, 8 primary schools, 7 middle schools, and 1 special school.
St. Catherine’s International English Kindergarten in Kowloon Tong added 2 more students to the infection: one of them was a morning class student who had previously been reported to be involved in the epidemic. After receiving two shots of the vaccine, he went to class on the last day on the 20th. On the 22nd, he developed symptoms, but the quick test was negative. By the 25th, the quick test with his mother and domestic helper were both positive. The morning and afternoon classes in the relevant classrooms have been suspended. Classes not involved in the epidemic that were previously reported, the last day of class on the 24th, developed symptoms on the 25th and tested positive for the rapid test, and 26 students and 5 staff members in the same class tested negative. At present, 8 students and 1 staff member of this kindergarten group have been infected, and most of them involved the same classroom, which is suspected of environmental pollution.
In the “McDonald’s Taikoo Shing” group, a 99-year-old woman was newly infected with the Omicron variant BA.2.12.1. She was tested positive during the “enclosed inspection” at Regent Gardens in Kowloon Bay. She has been vaccinated and is currently recovering. Although she has not been to McDonald’s in Phase 3 of Cityplaza, her genetic sequence is the same as that of the 76-year-old confirmed woman who lives in the same building and has been to the fast food restaurant. It cannot be ruled out that the two had contact in the building. At present, a total of 11 people in this group have been diagnosed, including 9 customers and 2 close contacts.