Around 800 severe and fatal cases were recorded among adults over winter, while 10 children became seriously ill after catching the virus, the centre said on Thursday.
At a press briefing, CHP controller Edwin Tsui said the predominant strain of the virus during winter, A (H1), was also prevalent in 2018/19, but the number of severe and fatal cases among adults this time decreased by 15 percent.
Tsui said severe cases involving children dropped by 60 percent when compared with six years ago, thanks to a higher vaccination rate.
He said people should also get vaccinated in case flu strikes again this summer.
“I think the risk or the probability of having a summer influenza season in Hong Kong is still present, and usually the summer influenza season will come in July and August,” he said.
“After this winter influenza season, we have to guard against any respiratory infections, especially the summer influenza activities and seasons. So what members of the public should do is get vaccinated.”
Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority said it will increase manpower around Easter.
“For Easter, according to previous experience, the attendance will slowly grow along the four days of the public holidays. After that, there will be the peak in the following weekend,” chief manager Larry Lee said.
“The good thing about this year is we don’t bundle the Easter holiday together with the Ching Ming Festival.”
