Beijing to support Hong Kong amid virus surge

Beijing will continue to support Hong Kong amid a recent COVID-19 surge, said a Chinese health official at a press briefing on Saturday afternoon.

The Deputy Director of Disease Control Bureau at the National Health Commission said "The central government will continue to fully support the prevention and control of the pandemic in Hong Kong, and experts will continue to work closely with their Hong Kong counterparts to fight against the pandemic".

The new daily case count reached 10,010, health officials said, after topping 6,000 last week and 8,000 earlier this week in a spiraling outbreak.

The city has been reporting about 50 deaths a day, many among the unvaccinated elderly. Under China's "zero approach," mass testing and tight regional restrictions are still enforced for a short period of time as soon as a few cases are detected.