Albert Au, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection, termed the virus activity in the financial hub as “quite high” while addressing the local media this week. The number of respiratory samples testing positive for Covid in Hong Kong recently hit its highest level in a year, the report added.

According to official data, serious cases, including deaths due to Covid, also rose to 31 in the week that ended on May 3, the highest level in about a year.

Although this spike in Covid cases in Hong Kong, which houses some seven million people, is not as high as the last two years, some factors point to the virus spreading rapidly. These factors include the rise in the viral load found in sewage water and the increased number of people seeking medical consultations and hospitalisations due to Covid, said the report.

Singapore on Covid alert

Singapore, which is also on Covid alert, shared the update on the rise in Covid cases in almost a year, with alarming numbers. As of the week that ended on May 3, the number of estimated Covid cases rose by 28% to 14,200 as compared to the week before.

Singapore now only reports Covid case numbers when there’s a big increase.

According to Singapore’s health ministry, the surge in Covid cases could be attributed to decline in the immunity of people. However, there are no indications that the current variants are more severe or spreadable than those seen during the pandemic.

The spike in the Covid cases in Hong Kong and Singapore, two of Asia’s biggest financial hubs, comes amid a similar trend across the region. People, particularly those at higher risk, have been advised to get booster shots.

In China, too, a Covid wave may soon get as bad as it did last year, according to data from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.