【明報專訊】Hong Kong is mired in a tough fight against the pandemic. Even though the daily numbers of confirmed cases have barely stayed within 100 over the past few days, there have still been numerous cases with unknown origins. Not only has there been a new high of severe patients in hospital, but they are also younger. Quite a number of people mistakenly believe that as long as one is young and does not have chronic disease, one will soon recover even if infected. In reality, cases show that if people disregard the symptoms and seek medical care late, their condition could rapidly deteriorate and even become life-threatening. As there are many infection chains in the communities, citizens must avoid high-risk social gatherings. Even if the winter solstice and Christmas holidays are coming, everyone must maintain a strict anti-pandemic regimen and must not take the pandemic lightly. Abroad, COVID-19 outbreaks have shown no signs of abating. Recently, in southern England, a new COVID-19 strain has been discovered. It has caused more than a thousand infections. The UK authorities do not rule out the possibility that the new variant has greater transmissibility. Now we are in the peak period when Hong Kong overseas students come back in droves. The SAR government must pay close attention to virus mutations and do a good job of preventing imported cases.