The current number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is an indication that the vaccination program is effective as no one is currently in critical condition.

Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the higher proportion of COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital had visited the facility for other reasons.

205 people are currently admitted in hospitals, of which 114 are from the Central Division.

Dr Fong says none of the patients admitted to the hospital are critical or severe.

“If a higher proportion of the COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital are diagnosed incidental to the reason why they are admitted to the hospital, that’s a good indication of how strong our vaccination is. I have mentioned before that Omicron has spread and will continue to spread until it touches all of us. The good thing is that it’s quite clear to us that severe impacts are not as bad as our previous waves.” 

Doctor Fong says they are trying to suppress the transmission of the virus in the communities so that hospitalization numbers remain low

The Permanent Secretary says strict adherence to the community-wide COVID safety measures by everyone will ensure that we will continue to function socially and economically.