HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong surpassed one million confirmed cases of coronavirus on Friday since the start of the pandemic, while the number of deaths exceeds the total recorded in mainland China in the midst of the outbreak of the omicron variant, more contagious than the previous ones.
Health authorities reported 20,079 more infections on Friday, bringing the total to 1,016,944. Almost 97% have been recorded in the new wave that began in December. Since 9 February, nearly 5,200 people have died from the virus in the semi-autonomous territory.
The total number of fatalities in Hong Kong, 5,401, exceeds 4,636 in the mainland. There, the authorities have counted 126,234 positives but, unlike most countries, they did not include asymptomatic cases.
The city, of 7.5 million inhabitants, is in the midst of an omicron outbreak that has saturated its health system and left hospitals at full capacity. The coffins are running out and the morgues are so full that the bodies have had to be temporarily stored in refrigerated containers.
Most of the deceased are older patients, many of whom did not have the full vaccination schedule.