(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Centre for Health Protection today called on the public to stay vigilant against COVID-19 and continue to maintain social distancing despite a slight downward trend in the number of cases.

During a press briefing this afternoon, the centre’s Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan explained that despite fewer imported cases and arrivals, there were still a lot of asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms in the community.

"The general trend is a bit downward, because if you take the seven-day moving average, the number is a bit on the lower side. The trend is downward but I hope this is a persistent trend - not a temporary trend - and will not have a rebound. Because of the long incubation period, the situation now is reflecting around one or two weeks before, I am not sure about the coming trend, so we need to maintain vigilance."

Dr Chuang urged members of the public not to become complacent as there was still a chance of a chain of transmission in the city.

"I observed that during the Easter holiday a lot of people (were) going out, either to restaurants or to other places. So, if they take public transport and they go to crowded places, I think we need to maintain social distancing, try to avoid going out as much as possible."

The centre also announced it is investigating 11 additional cases of COVID-19 involving six females and five males aged 19 to 59.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.