Hong Kong continues to see a downward trend in the number of daily coronavirus cases, with 26 infections recorded Tuesday.
The increase is the lowest in over a month. The last time fewer than 30 cases were reported was July 15, when there were 19 new infections.
Three of the new cases today are imported, all of them from Indonesia. Eight have no known source of transmission.
But Chuang Shuk-kwan, Head of the Center for Health Protection’s Communicable Disease Branch, denied to say that the outbreak has peaked in Hong Kong.
“[The unknown cases] affect various sectors in the community, [and people] with different occupations, some of them are unemployed or only stay at home,” Chuang said. “This signifies that there is quite some silent transmission and silent carriers in the community.”
Among the new patients is a man from Thailand who Chuang said had overstayed his visa, and upon being caught by authorities was transferred to the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Center, where a hunger strike protesting the facility’s poor hygiene conditions and abusive treatment at the hands of officers has been ongoing for almost two months.
A surveillance program at the center ensures that all new detainees are tested for the virus, and the man’s test returned positive.
Three detainees in his cell and two immigration centers will be quarantined. The man reportedly came to Hong Kong in late October and was staying with a friend in Tsuen Wan.
The Hospital Authority recorded two more deaths, involving a 64-year-old female and an 86-year-old male. A total of 72 COVID-19 patients have died of virus complications.
Earlier this month, the Hong Kong government said it would roll out a universal COVID-19 testing plan, allowing all citizens to take a free, one-off virus test. The scheme will begin earliest on August 31.
Health Secretary Sophia Chan said she expects that around five million Hongkongers will take up the testing offer, but reception to the scheme has been lukewarm. The testing labs are Hong Kong subsidiaries of mainland Chinese companies, sparking concerns about the quality of the testing and potential privacy issues.
