Coronavirus | HK reports slight decrease with 70 new cases, 63 local

Hong Kong reported 70 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday (Jan. 21), including 63 local infections, bringing the city's overall tally to 9,867.

Of the new patients who contracted the virus locally, 31 were residents of Yau Tsim Mong district, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease branch, said at a press briefing.

Sixteen of the new infections were untraceable, she added.

Chuang also said more than 40 people tested preliminarily positive, including 11 who were discovered by testing stations set up in Yau Ma Tei.

Among those who tested preliminarily positive was an 80-year-old man who lived at an elderly care home inside Sheung On Mansion in Jordan, Chuang said.

Six workers and 21 residents there were categorized as close contacts and would be quarantined, she added.

A 74-year-old woman with chronic diseases, who was hospitalized on Jan 10, succumbed to the virus in the early hours of Thursday, the Hospital Authority said in a statement. She was the city's 167th coronavirus-related fatality.

Meanwhile, travelers entering the Chinese mainland from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region via the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint will be diverted to Shenzhen's nearby cities, including Dongguan, Huizhou, Shanwei and Zhongshan, the Guangdong provincial government said on Wednesday.

Currently, up to 2,000 people per day are allowed to travel across Shenzhen Bay to the mainland, provided that they book a quarantine hotel in advance and hold a negative test result issued within 24 hours before crossing the border.

(Source: China Daily)