Hong Kong will expand its vaccine bubble to include shopping malls and supermarkets, authorities confirmed, but added there would be exemptions and random inspections in some places, as they battle a new record surge in Covid-19 cases.

The outbreak has overwhelmed healthcare facilities in the global financial hub, with a new daily high of 7,533 infections and 13 deaths, among them an 11-month-old child, building pressure on the government.

As most major cities learn to live with the virus, Hong Kong has imposed its toughest curbs yet, with Chinese President Xi Jinping saying that reining in the disease is the city's “overriding mission”, Reuters reports.