Hong Kong reports 67 new COVID-19 cases including 4 imported ones

Hong Kong reported a record number of new local infections of COVID-19 for a second time this week on Thursday, as the region is facing what a public health official has called "the most serious epidemic situation" this year.

The Center for Health Protection said 63 local and four imported cases were registered on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 1,655. Of the local infections, 35 had unknown sources and 28 were related to previous cases.

The last time for Hong Kong to report a daily increase record of local infections since the latest COVID-19 outbreak was on Monday when 41 cases were recorded. Over the past two weeks, there were 355 new cases in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong witnessed a resurgence of COVID-19 cases over the past weeks, prompting the government to step up preventive and control efforts again, including mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and closures of some entertainment venues.

The gaining trend of new COVID-19 cases has shown no signs of abating and it is still unclear that whether the outbreak has peaked or not, Chuang Shuk-kwan, the CHP official who had previously warned of the severity of this new round of outbreak, told a press conference on Thursday.

Chuang urged residents to follow anti-epidemic measures and stay at home as much as possible to cut the transmission chain.

As of Thursday noon, 319 patients remained in hospital, including six in critical condition.