HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - About 300,000 people in Hong Kong are currently in isolation or under home quarantine, Chief Executive Officer Carrie Lam said at a press conference on Sunday (March 13).

The city has boosted support for isolated people because of the high numbers and will start sending medical packages to Covid-19 patients from Monday, according to officials. The supplies will include pain and fever relief tablets and devices to measure oxygen rates, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said at the briefing.

Hong Kong plans to mobilise all sectors to fight Covid-19 and help quell the fifth wave of the pandemic, Acting Home Affairs Secretary Jack Chan said. Authorities have recruited about 11,500 volunteers to help with tasks including delivering the medical kits to affected households, according to Chan.

The city has adequate resources to fight Covid-19, with assistance from China, and is willing to set aside more money for its battle against the pandemic, Lam said.

Hong Kong's health system and morgues have been under pressure from a record outbreak that's pushed its death rate to one of the highest in the world. While the virus case count in the city has steadily declined over the past week, fatalities have risen.

On Sunday, Hong Kong reported 32,430 new Covid-19 cases and 264 virus-related deaths. A day earlier, more than 27,000 confirmed cases were logged, and a high of over 56,000 were reported on March 3.

Hong Kong has recorded nearly 700,000 Covid-19 infections and about 3,500 deaths since early 2020 – most of them in the past two weeks. Most of the fatalities are among unvaccinated senior citizens.

Hong Kong, like mainland China, is pursuing a “zero-Covid-19” strategy that seeks to curb infections with strict control measures, even as most other major cities learn to live with the virus.