HONG KONG’S Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 85 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday, the third day when the daily additional cases fell below 100.

The newly reported cases, including three imported cases and 82 local infections, brought the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong to 3,754.

Among the local cases, 49 are related to previously confirmed cases, mostly involving clusters due to family or friend gatherings, while the remaining 33 cases are without a known source of infection, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP’s Communicable Disease Branch, said at a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon.

Lau Ka-hin, a chief manager of Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority, said at the briefing that another two patients with confirmed infection passed away over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from COVID-19 in Hong Kong’s public hospitals to 43.

As of 9:00 a.m. yesterday, 2,314 patients with confirmed infection had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, while 1,235 patients were hospitalized, including 45 in critical condition and 53 in serious condition, Lau said, adding that the current occupancy rates of negative pressure rooms and isolation beds in public hospitals were 76 percent and 72 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, the Research Council, chaired by Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan, has approved a further 59 million Hong Kong dollars (US$7.61 million) in funding yesterday to support local universities to conduct research studies on COVID-19 under the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF), according to a government press release.

“Together with the first batch of applications approved in April this year, the HMRF has provided total funding of 170 million HK dollars in supporting COVID-19 research. The Food and Health Bureau of the HKSAR Government expects the scientific evidence generated from these studies will help inform control measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and protect the health of the Hong Kong population,” Chan said.

(Xinhua)