Pedestrians cross a busy intersection in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong on Jan 4, 2022. (PETER PARKS / AFP)
HONG KONG – The government on Wednesday night cordoned off buildings in Causeway Bay, Kowloon Tong, and North Point for targeted testing after five of their residents tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19.
Four of the cases were linked to the mother of a Cathay Pacific aircrew member who was infected with the Omicron variant.
The government said in a statement that it set up at 7:30 pm a restricted area at Serene Court, 41 Tin Hau Temple Road, Causeway Bay after two female residents tested preliminarily positive for the mutant strain.
Four of the cases were linked to the mother of a Cathay Pacific aircrew member who was infected with the Omicron variant
Preliminary tests also showed that a female resident of Rock View Gardens, 36 Tat Chee Avenue, Yau Yat Tsuen, Kowloon Tong was infected and the building was cordoned off at 7 pm.
At 9:30 pm, another restricted area was set up at Block 15, Provident Centre, 49 Wharf Road, North Point, excluding the shops at WORFU shopping mall, after two variant cases were detected.
The government expected the targeted testing operation at Serene Court to be finished by 6:30 am on Thursday while the testing at Rock View Mansions should be wrapped up by 7 am. The operation at Provident Centre was expected to be finished by 7:30 am.
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In a statement on Wednesday night, the Centre for Health Protection said the first of the two patients from Serene Court is a close contact of the Cathay aircrew member’s mother and she had a meal with her at Six Garden Restaurant, G/F, 1A Gordon Road, Tin Hau on Dec 31.
The 59-year-old patient, who is asymptomatic, had no travel history during the incubation period and had three vaccine shots. Her sample taken on Jan 4 tested preliminarily positive.
The woman’s 37-year-old female relative who lives with her also tested preliminarily positive but showed no COVID-19 symptoms.
Both patients work at Wing Yuen Tea House, G/F, 39 Peel Street, Central and they last went to work on Jan 1 and Jan 4, respectively.
The CHP said the two other cases linked to the aircrew member’s mother involved a 62-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man who live at Provident Centre.
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The woman is also considered a close contact of the aircrew member’s mother and they danced together between Dec 28 and 31 in Victoria Park and Causeway Bay Community Centre.
She was also present when the mother and the female patient from Serene Court had a meal at Six Garden Restaurant. She is retired and has not received any vaccine shot.
The CHP noted that the 42-year-old surveyor from Tuen Mun, who was confirmed to have the Omicron variant on Wednesday, was also at Six Garden Restaurant when the three women had their meal.
The CHP added that the male patient from Provident Centre is a household contact of the female patient.
He developed a cough on Jan 4 and tested preliminarily positive the following day. The patient, who is unvaccinated, works at Room 805, 8/F, Olympia Plaza, 255 King's Road, North Point, where he last went to work on Jan 4.
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The CHP said the female patient from Rock View Gardens in Kowloon Tong is a 62-year-old retiree who had a meal at Moon Palace restaurant in Festival Mall on Dec 27, when earlier patients who tested positive visited the restaurant.
The woman, who had two vaccine shots, tested preliminarily positive on Jan 4 but the result of the test for mutant strains is pending.