7th February 2022 – (Hong Kong) Hong Kong recorded more than 300 COVID-19 cases for two consecutive days, and a total of 1,921 confirmed cases in the past two weeks, including more than 320 local cases of unknown sources. Kwok Kin-on, an assistant professor at the School of Public Health and Primary Care at CUHK, said on a radio program this morning (7th) that the fifth wave of the epidemic occurred close to the Lunar New Year, resulting in more social contacts among citizens. It is believed that there will be more cluster outbreaks in succession. The number of confirmed cases in a single day may reach as high as 1,000.
Kwok also pointed out that there are quite a lot of cases with unknown sources of infection at present. It is estimated that one person can infect four other people. By the fifth generation of transmission, nearly 1,000 people will be infected. If the authorities fail to trace close contacts in the short term, the epidemic will be difficult to be brought under control. He believes that the current “containment” policy can allow citizens time to get vaccinated and reduce the rate of death and severe illness once infected. He urged the elderly to get vaccinated as soon as possible, and others should also get the third booster shot as soon as possible.