Among the new infections, 8,149 were locally transmitted, including 1.878 confirmed via PCR tests and 6,271 verified positive RAT results. The remaining 129 were imported from overseas, according to the Centre for Health Protection's principal medical and health officer Albert Au Ka-wing.

Au said the infection figures have been kept below 9,000 in the past few days, and the developments are now steadier than in mid-August or early September.

Despite worries amid Mid-Autumn celebrations, the numbers have yet to escalate significantly, Au added. Still, authorities need another week before they can tell if the development has stabilized.

On another note, Au again stressed Covid is not flu as the former is a newly discovered disease. He continued that flu is an endemic that has existed for a very long time, and most people receive protection by getting flu shots or contracting the virus repeatedly.

Covid, on the other hand, remains a global pandemic and can cause severe illnesses with a higher death rate, Au warned.

Au also said the health experts and the government will review the pandemic development continuously while controlling the infection figures and balancing the risks are two of the city's major principles in fighting Covid.

Hospital Authority's chief manager for patient safety and risk management, Sara Ho Yuen-ha, reported 16 deaths, including nine males and seven females aged 4 to 98. The four-year-old boy the HA reported yesterday (Fri) was also counted into today's tally.

Four residents from an elderly home and two care centers for the disabled were infected with Covid, and 10 other residents were ordered to undergo quarantine.

A total of 56 Covid patients are in critical condition, 54 in serious condition, and 16 are in hospital intensive care.