HKSAR chief executive mourns deaths of COVID-19 patients

HONG KONG, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam, on behalf of the HKSAR government, on Tuesday expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of COVID-19 patients amid the COVID-19 outbreak, and extended her deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased.

Since the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, thousands of staff members, and tens of thousands of residents, at residential care homes have been infected with the coronavirus. Over 8,000 deaths, of which more than 90 percent are elderly people aged 65 or above, have been recorded to date amid the current wave.

In response to the epidemic development and taking into account the views of mainland experts, the HKSAR government has focused on reducing deaths, severe cases and infections in its anti-epidemic effort since early March, addressing infection risks in key groups of people, premises and organizations, and giving priority to the elderly. The HKSAR government has been enhancing its anti-epidemic capabilities on various fronts.

"The first three months of 2022 have just passed, when Hong Kong has been facing the most severe situation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. The epidemic situation has caused anxiety and sorrow to members of the public who have lost their loved ones," Lam said.

"The HKSAR government will spare no effort in working in unity with all sectors of society and leveraging the staunch support of the central government to stabilize the epidemic as soon as possible," she added.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong registered 1,658 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 1,596 additional cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.