HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong reported a record number of Covid-19 infections and a rising death count on Sunday (Feb 27) that is straining its health infrastructure and morgues, with authorities warning that cases haven't peaked yet in the city's worst outbreak since the pandemic began.

Hong Kong reported 26,026 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, including 83 deaths, health officials said at a briefing.

Of those deaths, 67 were patients in care homes. Only seven of the infections were imported cases.

The financial hub is battling to contain a fifth wave of the virus as the government plans to begin multiple rounds of compulsory mass testing in the city.

With the exponentially rising infections overwhelming hospitals, isolation facilities and morgues, authorities will implement an online platform for residents to report the results of self-administered rapid antigen tests and allow those with no or mild symptoms to isolate at home.

The rapidly escalating infections and shift in how to deal with them raises questions about whether Hong Kong can maintain its strict Covid-zero strategy, a policy that is also being pursued by mainland China.

That is aimed at eradicating the virus, rather than living with the virus and relaxing restrictions as much of the the rest of the world is doing.

Hospitals overwhelmed

"We are very worried with over 20,000 confirmed cases - today it reached another peak and the case numbers are still on the rise," said Dr Albert Au, the principal medical officer of communicable disease at the health department.

"The situation is quite serious currently."

The vast majority of deaths have involved people who were not fully vaccinated.

Over the past 24 hours, 90 per cent of those who died were over the age of 65, often living in residential care homes, the health officials said.

Many of the younger people who passed away had other medical complications.

Sunday's infections were on top of the 17,063 new reported virus cases on Saturday.

Hospitals have been prioritising the elderly and very young, but the city's health infrastructure is being stretched to its capacity.

In recent days, photos have shown patients lying on stretchers next to each other on the floor of hospitals.

Meanwhile, morgues are at 90 per cent of capacity, with delays transporting bodies to mortuaries, the officials said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has ordered the entire 7.4 million population be tested three times in March, a tactic that has been deployed often in China and is set to uncover even more infections.

Over the weekend, officials unveiled plans to adopt an easing of isolation rules to free up more resources while the online system facilitates a shift in approach that allows more patients to self-isolate at home.

Home self-isolation

Hospitals will discharge Covid-positive patients if they are in a stable condition and allow them to isolate at home or in community facilities to relieve the burden on the health system, officials said.

People with positive results from rapid antigen tests will be able to register the results online.

Most people subject to compulsory testing notices will be able take a rapid test on their own instead of lining up at community centres.

Positive results from nucleic-acid tests conducted by contractors will be immediately counted as confirmed cases.

New infections and their family members, considered close contacts, will receive government isolation orders and testing kits sent to their homes.

If patients are double-vaccinated and their rapid testing results are consecutively negative on the sixth and seventh day of self-isolation, they are considered recovered and can leave their homes, the officials said.

Additionally, the city plans to deploy more than 100,000 electronic wristbands to monitor Covid-19 patients who are isolating at home, reported local media, citing the technology minister.

The wristbands, which would pair with a tracking app, will be given to patients in self-isolation.

"This will eliminate the pressure on hospitals and allow patients the treatment they need and relieve pressure on staff," said Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority.

The online system will also help health officials monitor and provide support to those isolating at home and waiting to be admitted to hospital with serious or worsening symptoms, they said.

With space running out at hospitals and isolation facilities, daily infections are likely to peak at nearly 183,000 in early March, before gradually dropping to around 400 by mid-May, according to an updated forecast from the Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health and the University of Hong Kong's WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control.

From Feb 25, Bloomberg News is highlighting the number of "reported" cases disclosed by the Hong Kong government instead of the confirmed case number.

This is because the reported cases figure reflects the total number of infections found in the hospital system and detected by private laboratories and doctors in the past 24 hours, making it a more accurate reflection of the state of the outbreak.

The confirmed case number is considered outdated as it contains old cases that authorities were already aware of, and is a reflection of the backlogs at both public and private labs.