A man runs past closed public basketball courts in Hong Kong on March 30, 2020.
(DALE DE LA REY / AFP)
HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s tally of the novel coronavirus cases reached 1,000 on Saturday, as authorities announced 11 new cases.
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Four patients of the 1,000 cases have died so far. What began as a slow progression from the city’s first infection, on Jan 23, suddenly spiked in the last week of March, with cases doubling from 300 to more than 600. The worst day was March 27, when 65 new cases were recorded in a single day. Since then the number of new cases has fallen, and the curve has flattened.
Among of the 11 new patients, 10 had a travel history and the other one suspected of becoming infected locally once visited a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui
At a press briefing on Saturday, Head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health Chuang Shuk-kwan said despite fewer cases, the public should still stay vigilant and avoid public gatherings to minimize the risk of community transmission of the disease.
The new patients involved five men and six women, aged between 19 and 59. Of all, 10 people had a travel history and the other one suspected of becoming infected locally once visited a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui.
With more than 300 patients already discharged after recovery, 650 people have still remained in the hospital for treatment, including 14 in critical condition, according to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority.
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By Saturday, the world had counted more than 1.7 million cases of COVID-19 in 185 countries and regions, claiming more than 102,000 lives, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
With Xinhua inputs
