HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported one imported COVID-19 infection on Tuesday, pushing the city’s tally of confirmed cases to 11,944.
The new case involved a 56-year-old man who arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from Russia, according to a statement from the Centre for Health Protection. The patient had no symptoms.
The CHP said it was also investigating a case involving a 25-year-old staff member of the United States Consulate General in Hong Kong who had previously recovered from COVID-19.
She had no symptoms but tested positive for the virus on July 4. After admission to a hospital, the patient's test result was negative while she tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
The Centre for Health Protection said it was also investigating a case involving a 25-year-old staff member of the United States Consulate General in Hong Kong who had previously recovered from COVID-19
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“Initial investigations of the CHP revealed that the patient had been diagnosed of COVID-19 in the United States in January this year,” the CHP statement reads.
“After examining the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory findings, this case is compatible with a re-positive case. The CHP is following up the case with the US health authority. Epidemiological investigation is ongoing,” it added.
Speaking to reporters before her weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said there is no timeline for the city to resume normal travel with the Chinese mainland.
“I have expressed Hong Kong people’s strong appeals to central government officials. We are currently filing a report to the central government. There is no timetable for border reopening for the time being,” Lam said.
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Hong Kong’s stabilized local situation, the city’s improved capacity to tackle outbreaks and business sector’s urgent need for travel are the three aspects to be highlighted, Lam said.
Meanwhile, a new batch of about 1.7 million Sinovac vaccine doses arrived in Hong Kong from Beijing on Tuesday. This is the third batch of Sinovac vaccines delivered in the city.
Soon after the arrival of the vaccines, government staff carried out stringent checks to ensure that they comply with product specifications and that the transportation process followed relevant cold-chain requirements.