Hong Kong reports 128 new COVID-19 cases

APD NEWS

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Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 128 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the fifth straight day when the daily additional cases surpassed 100.

The newly-reported cases, including 103 local infections and 25 imported cases, brought the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong to 2,633.

Out of the local cases, 68 are related to previously confirmed cases, mostly clusters concerning gatherings of families or friends, while the sources of infection of the other 35 cases remain unknown, Chuang Shuk-kwa, head of the CHP's Communicable Disease Branch, said at a media briefing on Sunday afternoon.

The 25 imported cases mostly involve sea crew and foreign domestic helpers, according to Chuang.

Chui Tak-yi, under secretary for food and health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, urged members of the public to suspend social activities such as family and friends' gatherings, and called on the elderly and persons with underlying illnesses to avoid going out.

According to Linda Yu, a chief manager of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, as of Sunday afternoon, the death toll from COVID-19 in Hong Kong has increased to 18.

In Hong Kong, Yu said, the occupancy rates of negative pressure rooms and isolation beds in public hospitals have risen to 82.4 percent and 77.1 percent respectively.