However, undersecretary for food and health Chui Tak-yi said infection numbers in four digits are still much more severe than the highest daily tally at 149 in the fourth wave last year, as he reminded citizens to continue to heighten alertness and avoid flocking to graveyards and columbariums on the weekend and Ching Ming Festival on Tuesday.

He added a possible super-spreading event can easily trigger a rebound of outbreaks and called for citizens to stick to social distancing measures and refrain from cross-family gatherings.

On the city’s vaccination coverage, Chui said over 270,000 elderly citizens aged 70 and above have yet to be jabbed and urged them to receive the injections as soon as possible.

Centre for Health Protection’s head of communicable disease branch Chuang Shuk-kwan said the 6,646 new infections included 2,859 picked up by PCR tests and 3,787 rapid antigen tests.

Seven of the cases were imported, including two aircrew members arriving from Germany on Wednesday and five travelers from Thailand, Indonesia, and United Arab Emirates.

Hospital Authority’s chief manager for patient safety and risk management, Sara Ho Yuen-ha, said 102 Covid patients passed away in public hospitals on Wednesday, including 58 men and 44 women aged between 56 and 105.

Of them, 53 were care-home residents, while 67 were unvaccinated, 25 had taken one dose, nine were double jabbed, and one had three shots.

Three of the younger patients below 60 were two men and a woman, 56 to 59, who suffered from chronic diseases or cancer.

Ho also reported delayed announcements of 17 more deaths between March 23 to Monday, comprising 13 men and four women aged 62 to 98.

As of Wednesday, the Hospital Authority has prescribed Covid oral drugs from Pfizer and MSD to over 21,600 patients.

From Wednesday, mild elderly Covid patients who were directly transferred from care homes to seven holding centers operated by the Social Welfare Department could also be prescribed oral Covid drugs.