Health officials on Wednesday reported 3,805 new Covid-19 infections, including 180 imported cases.

More than 1,200 Covid patients were being treated in public hospitals, including 146 new admissions. Five people were in intensive care.

Another death of a Covid patient was announced – that of a 67-year-old man who suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes.

At the daily pandemic press briefing, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre For Health Protection said people infected with the BA.2.12.1, BA.4 or BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, as well as their close contacts, will no longer automatically be sent to a quarantine or isolation facility.

She said such people can now quarantine at home like others infected with Covid, if conditions allow.

"We have analysed the cases in Hong Kong. We also note that the World Health Organisation had noted that there's no severity signal among BA.5, which is regarded as the most transmissible sub-variant among all Omicron cases," Chuang said at the daily Covid press conference.

"We have not observed any increase in severity among those patients suffering from [BA.5]."

However, Chuang noted that around 5,000 people currently in quarantine centres or hotels would have to stay there for the duration of their isolation periods.

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USEFUL LINKS
General Covid-19 situation: https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/
Covid-19 testing: https://www.communitytest.gov.hk/en/
Community testing notices: https://bit.ly/3ivX2Ce
Community Clinics for Covid-19 patients: https://bit.ly/3l5CkKv
RAT reporting platform: https://www.chp.gov.hk/ratp/
Vaccination programme: https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/sen/
Vaccination pass scheme: https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/vaccine-pass.html
Hotline for Covid-positive patients: 1836 115