People wearing face masks walk in Tsuen Wan, south China's Hong Kong, March 10, 2022. (LO PING FAI / XINHUA)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s health authorities on Friday reported 5,393 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths  –similar to Thursday ’s daily caseload.

The CHP said in another statement that it has been closely monitoring a severe human case of avian influenza on the Chinese mainland

Of the new cases, 5,023 were local infections and 370 imported cases, according to the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.

Of the imported cases, 230 were detected from samples collected at the airport, 102 during days 1-3, and the remaining 38 during days 4 to 7, the CHP added.

Also, the government identified 118 cases of sub-lineage XBB, five of XBD, six of BA.2.75.2, four of BA.4.6, seven of BF.7 and 11 of BQ.1.1 among the imported cases, as well as four cases of sub-lineage XBD and two of BQ.1.1 among the local ones.

The new nine deaths brought the city’s death toll during this wave of the pandemic to 10,102. So far, the city has recorded 10,315 COVID-related deaths in total, said the CHP.

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Avian influenza

The CHP said in another statement that it has been closely monitoring a severe human case of avian influenza on the Chinese mainland.

The case involves a three-year-old boy living in Nanning, Guangxi, who developed symptoms on Sept 1 and was admitted to hospital for treatment on Sept 11.

The CHP has cautioned residents against buying live or freshly slaughtered poultry or touching poultry or birds or their droppings, and suggests them observe personal and hand hygiene when visiting any place with live poultry.

READ MORE: Hong Kong logs 5,424 new COVID-19 cases

People have also been advised to make sure that their eggs are well cooked before consumption, wear a mask if fever or respiratory symptoms develop, and consult a doctor if symptoms develop after they return from affected areas.