Hong Kong’s daily COVID-19 tally dropped to three digits for the first time in more than two months on Friday.
This comes as the city gears itself for the relaxation of a slew of social distancing measures next Thursday and many residents take to the streets to enjoy the long Easter weekend, which ends next Monday.
The Centre for Health Protection reported 946 new coronavirus infections on Friday.
A total of 471 were detected via PCR tests conducted by public and private laboratories. The remaining 475 were from an online platform for residents to report positive results of self-administered rapid antigen tests.
Of the 946 cases, 11 were imported.
A total of 22 infections involve residents or staff of homes for the elderly or disabled.
The Hospital Authority recorded 67 new deaths of patients who had tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days. They aged from 59 to 103.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, the head of the center’s communicable disease branch, said that with the long Easter weekend, more people are expected to be out, raising the risk of transmission.
“We hope everyone will wear their mask properly and maintain personal hygiene,” she said.
The number of daily COVID-19 infections has been above 1,000 in the city since February 9, shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The drop in daily cases to below 1,000 also means Chief Executive Carrie Lam will end her daily coronavirus press conferences, which she held for almost every day since March 9.
Earlier on Friday, she said, “We hope everyone can stay safe this Easter holiday to welcome the relaxation of social distancing restrictions on April 21 and the return of students in phases to campuses for lessons on April 19.”
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