Hong Kong, March 19 (ANI): Hong Kong's COVID-19 case count surpassed 1 million on Friday, amid the fifth and the worst wave of the disease.

As many as 20,082 new COVID-19 infections were reported in the city on Friday, of which 12,116 were identified through rapid tests, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported.

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As of Thursday, Hong Kong reported 996,862 COVID-19 infections and 5,136 people lost their lives to its fifth-wave COVID-19 outbreak, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP).

Chuang Shuk-Kwan, the head of the CHP's Communicable Disease Branch, during the press briefing on Thursday said that over the past week, the number of daily cases had gone "up and down" around 30,000 and authorities needed to observe the statistics for a few more days before a conclusion could be drawn. (ANI)

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(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)