According to the latest update of the mathematics modeling developed by HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine (HKUMed), the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong has already peaked on March 4 (last Friday), with daily infection number having been predicted to drop below 1,000 starting April 23. The HKUMed research team led by Professor Gabriel Leung, Dean of HKUMed and Chief Scientific Officer of the Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health, estimated that the infection number has reached 1.84 million as of March 7 (this Monday).
The modeling has also estimated that daily infections will remain below 100 by mid-May, and the total cases will stand at 4.3 million by May 1 with a total of 5,008 deaths.
The researchers offered the following four recommendations to cope with the coronavirus outbreak:
1. To increase the number of beds in intensive care units and general wards at hospitals massively;
2. To widely prescribe oral COVID-19 drugs such as Paxlovid and Molnupiravir to patients at high risk especially the elderly;
3. To boost the vaccination rate of elderly homes; and
4. To tighten the social distancing measures further.
News coverage:
RTHK – https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1637846-20220308.htm
Ming Pao – https://bit.ly/3vPz0d6
Oriental Daily – https://bit.ly/3KsDytX
am730 – https://bit.ly/3CtElIA
Now News – https://news.now.com/home/local/player?newsId=468916&refer=Share
HK01 – https://bit.ly/3tJSiOf
South China Morning Post – https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3169739/hong-kong-university-data-model-predicts-peak
The Standard – https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/187898/Covid-infections-have-peaked,-to-dip-below-1,000-by-late-April:-HKU