Hong Kong records 5,687 new Covid cases
Hong Kong on Wednesday logged 5,687 new Covid infections, including 146 imported cases.  Over 2,400 patients are currently being treated in public hospitals, including 18 who are in intensive care. A chief manager of the Hospital Authority, Gladys Kwan, said there have been improvements in the number of hospital admissions, bed occupancy rate, and the percentage of serious cases. "For non-essential services suspended previously, there may be room for some of them to be resumed. We are discussing that. We do not have any hard indicators whereby we will activate a certain stage, because this is a rather mobile decision, it depends on a basket of factors and also data we have," Kwan said.  Nine more Covid patients – aged between 66 and 92 – have passed away.  Separately, the Department of Health said a voluntary vaccination programme against monkeypox will begin on October 5 for high risk groups. In a statement, officials said these people include individuals with high-risk sexual practices, healthcare workers caring for monkeypox patients, as well as laboratory staff and animal care workers.