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Apr exports value down 13%

The value of Hong Kong's total exports decreased to $338.3 billion in April, down 13% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods decreased 11.9% to $374.9 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $36.6 billion, or 9.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in April.   Comparing the three-month period ending April with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 15.4%, while that of imports increased 10.7%.   The Government noted that the value of merchandise exports declined further from a year earlier in April. Exports to the Mainland, the US and the European Union all shrank and exports to other major Asian markets recorded decreases of varying degrees.   Looking ahead, it added that the weakness in the advanced economies will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance, though the expected faster recovery of the Mainland economy should

Over 15k local virus cases reported

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is looking into 15,862 additional locally acquired COVID-19 cases, of which 2,386 were identified through nucleic acid tests and 13,476 via rapid antigen tests.   Separately, 324 imported cases were detected.   Thirteen residential care homes for the elderly and five for disabled people logged 27 cases involving their residents as well as four infections among staff.   There were also 266 positive cases concerning 114 students and 152 staff filed by 156 schools.   Meanwhile, the centre announced that in view of the Government's adjustment to the local testing strategy and the cessation of distribution of specimen collection packs, designated specimen collection points under the Department of Health will no longer collect stool specimens starting tomorrow.   In addition to reporting that 75 patients passed away in public hospitals due to the coronavirus, the Hospital Authority registered 25 more critical patients, bringing the number of patients in critical condition to 204.   As there were positive sewage test results with relatively high viral loads in several areas of Southern, Tuen Mun and Islands districts, the respective district offices will distribute COVID-19 rapid test kits to relevant residents as well as cleaning workers and property management staff working there.   For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.
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