Hong Kong on Wednesday logged 5,687 new Covid infections, including 146 imported cases.

Over 2,400 patients are currently being treated in public hospitals, including 18 who are in intensive care.

A chief manager of the Hospital Authority, Gladys Kwan, said there have been improvements in the number of hospital admissions, bed occupancy rate, and the percentage of serious cases.

"For non-essential services suspended previously, there may be room for some of them to be resumed. We are discussing that. We do not have any hard indicators whereby we will activate a certain stage, because this is a rather mobile decision, it depends on a basket of factors and also data we have," Kwan said.

Nine more Covid patients – aged between 66 and 92 – have passed away.

Separately, the Department of Health said a voluntary vaccination programme against monkeypox will begin on October 5 for high risk groups.

In a statement, officials said these people include individuals with high-risk sexual practices, healthcare workers caring for monkeypox patients, as well as laboratory staff and animal care workers.