“It can be viewed as the sixth wave of coronavirus infections. But it already peaked last week and the wave is expected to linger for a few more weeks before it subsides,” he told a radio programme.

Hong Kong parents warned about other respiratory illnesses despite Covid peaking

“Among the cases, about 95.8 per cent were infected with XBB subvariant, which has rendered the first two generations of vaccines less effective. But for those who have been vaccinated, their infections were mostly mild with fewer serious cases and a reduced risk of fatality.”

Speaking in a separate television show, health minister Lo Chung-mau said Hong Kong had passed a wave of Covid-19 infections.

“The estimated number of infections was not low, but the impact on our healthcare system was insignificant,” Lo said. “The peak has also passed.”

He added that the government would continue to monitor the virus in various ways, including sewage surveillance and the number of cases handled by public and private clinics.

Up to 10,000 infected daily with Covid in Hong Kong, health chief says

Hui stressed the city’s coronavirus situation had shifted from a pandemic phase to an endemic one, with most Omicron cases only resulting in mild symptoms.

“The pandemic has already shifted to a new phase, becoming endemic after more than three years of infections. The virus can be treated as an ordinary respiratory infection and society has no need to be placed on high alert,” he said.

Hong Kong downgraded its response level for the pandemic from “emergency” to “alert” on Tuesday, the lowest in the government’s three-tier system, and will continue to treat Covid as a common respiratory disease.

The change indicates the government considers the disease’s immediate health impact on the population to be minimal.

The international body on May 5 declared that Covid-19 no longer posed a global emergency.

Speaking on another radio programme, Kwok Kin-on, an assistant professor at Chinese University’s medical faculty, said there was a survey conducted in March on 611 people, and over half of them said they would still wear a mask in the workplace or at outdoor venues in the next month. About 60 per cent said they would undergo a rapid antigen test if they had coronavirus symptoms.

But among the 76 per cent who had received three doses, only 10 per cent indicated they would get another booster shot.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Cheung