Hong Kong has opened a temporary field hospital with 500 beds to house stable Covid-19 patients as the city battles a new wave of virus infections.

The opening of the hospital comes a day after city leader Carrie Lam announced the postponement of upcoming legislative elections for a year, saying the decision was purely to protect public health and had “nothing to do with politics”.

The new makeshift hospital will take in Covid-19 patients aged from 18 to 60.

“Our goal is to triage the patients from the community and provide them with appropriate treatment and hospitalisation arrangement,” doctor Larry Lee from the Hospital Authority told media, adding that around 20 to 30 patients are expected to be admitted on the first day.