New coronavirus infections fell for a second day to 7,322, Hong Kong health authorities announced on Sunday.

Among the newly reported cases, 132 were imported.

More than 2,600 coronavirus patients remained under treatment in public hospitals, 16 of them in intensive care.

Officials also reported that another 23 people with Covid-19, aged 58 to 94, had died.

The Centre for Health Protection's Albert Au said the local epidemic is at a "stable" level although the daily infection figure is expected to fluctuate.

He said officials are closely monitoring daily infections to see if they have peaked and urged people to stay vigilant.

"We would like to appeal to members of the public to not loosen their guard as the community transmission remains high," Au said during the government's daily Covid press briefing.

Asked about expert advisor Professor David Hui's suggestion to scrap the PCR test requirement for arrivals, Au said such a move could lead to an increase in imported infections.

"Some people who just recovered or have yet to fully recover might not have been able to return to Hong Kong because they were not able to get a negative PCR test, or some may not have been aware that were infected without conducting a PCR test," he explained.

He said the government will need to look at factors including isolation facilities when it considers the proposal.

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USEFUL LINKS
General Covid-19 situation: https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/
Community Clinics for Covid-19 patients: https://bit.ly/3a4BZFE
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