‘HK may soon see two to five thousand cases a day’

An assistant professor from the Chinese University’s School of Public Health and Primary Care warned on Thursday that Hong Kong might see a daily Covid caseload of two to five thousand infections in the coming few days.

The city reported a record high of 1,161 cases on Wednesday, with all but eight infections being locally transmitted.

Speaking on an RTHK radio show, Professor Kwok Kin-on said the cases reported on Wednesday only reflects the infection situation a week ago, when old social distancing rules were in place and people were still celebrating the Lunar New Year.

He said the city will have to wait another week before it can tell whether the tightened social distancing measures that kicked in on Thursday work.

“The number of infections will continue to rise in the coming seven days, because we are looking at a situation when the old social distancing measures were in force,” Kwok said.

He added that if people adhere to social distancing rules, undergo tests and get vaccinated, the number of infections may peak at the end of this month or in early March before plateauing.

However, he stressed the situation will remain precarious as people may let their guard down once the pandemic eases.