The SUN HK : HK tightens quarantine control as 3rd imported case of Omicron detected

By Daisy CL Mandap

Chan says HK detected the 3 Omicron cases during quarantine

The government has announced stricter quarantine rules for all travelers who will come to Hong Kong from places where there has been community transmission of the Omicron variant.

Secretary for Health Sophia Chan made the announcement at a press conference earlier today, Nov. 29, during which she also reported the third case of Omicron infection being found in a 37-year-old man from Nigeria whose case was announced yesterday.

Prof Chan was quick to add that all three cases were imported, and no local transmission had occurred.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

“Three cases were detected in Hong Kong and all of them were detected during quarantine, and none of them entered the community,” she said.

But amid concerns that Omicron might be highly transmissible and could evade vaccines, the government will require all travelers arriving from countries with local transmission of the variant to stay for seven days at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre where they will be tested everyday.

If they test negative during that stay, they will be allowed to spend the rest of their 14-day quarantine at a designated hotel.

CLICK THIS TO REGISTER FOR FREE!

The new restrictions will also continue to apply to those arriving from eight southern African countries. Two of these countries, South Africa and Botswana, were the first to report cases of the highly feared new variant.

Heath officials announce stricter quarantine rules to stop Omicron entering the city

The controller of the Centre for Health Protection, Dr Edwin Tsui, said he expects more places to be added to the list, including some European countries where Omicron has been detected.

"We hope to balance the risk between Penny's Bay and designated quarantine hotels so that we can pick up the majority of the cases in the first seven days of quarantine in Penny's Bay,” Tsui said.

HP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-wan said the man from Nigeria had flown into Hong Kong on Nov 24 via Ethiopia, and tested negative on arrival at the airport.

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

But on his third day at a designated quarantine hotel he tested positive for coronavirus with the N501Y mutant strain. Genomic sequencing showed this to belong to the Omicron variant.

Chuang said the man had a Ct value of 27 to 29, which further went down to 20 upon his admission to hospital, indicating a recent infection outside Hong Kong.

She also reported on three new imported cases, two of whom had to be moved to Penny’s Bay after they were tagged as close contacts of patients who were infected earlier.

These are a 73-year-old man who had come from India and felt unwell on his fifth day at PBQC and a 69-year-old woman from Canada who was asymptomatic.

Press for details

The third confirmed case involves a 42-year-old male flight attendant who came from Finland via Singapore and tested positive on his arrival test in Hong Kong.

All three patients have been fully vaccinated, and carried the L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus.

They took Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 12,430 confirmed cases.