Hong Kong reports highest number of Covid cases since pandemic began

Officials confirm 614 new cases but insist outbreak can be controlled if people stay at home

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Hong Kong has reported a record 614 new cases of Covid-19, the vast majority of them the highly transmissible Omicron variant, but authorities are sticking to their guns on the territory getting back down to zero.

On Monday, the authorities reported the city's highest daily number of cases since the pandemic began, a doubling of the previous day's total, with more than a third untraceable. Another 600 cases were recorded as preliminarily positive. The sharp rise was attributed to last week's lunar new year festivities, although the overall outbreak began late last year.