This photo taken on Dec 10, 2021 shows a man (centre) riding a bicycle down a street in Sheung Shui, a town in northwest Hong Kong. (BERTHA WANG / AFP)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong detected 12 Omicron cases on Wednesday as it suspended Cathay Pacific flights from Los Angeles and Toronto for two weeks.
In a statement, the Centre for Health Protection said the 12 Omicron infections involved four men and eight women, aged 19 to 79, whose COVID-19 infection were previously confirmed.
The Centre for Health Protection said the 12 Omicron infections involved four men and eight women, aged 19 to 79, whose COVID-19 infection were previously confirmed
Ten of them tested positive during the "test-and-hold" arrangement at the airport while two tested positive during quarantine. Including the 12 infections, the financial hub has so far reported 70 imported Omicron cases.
The CHP also said that Cathay flights from LA and Toronto were prohibited from landing in Hong Kong from Dec 29 to Jan 11.
The Department of Health made the decision after two Cathay flights from Los Angeles on Dec 26 and 28 each had two passengers who tested positive for the virus.
On Dec 28, a Cathay flight from Toronto had three passengers testing positive for COVID-19 upon their arrival in Hong Kong, the CHP added.
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Meanwhile, the CHP also said that Hong Kong on Wednesday had 14 new imported CVID-19 cases, including 11 that involved mutant strains, bringing the city’s tally to 12,618.
“Eleven of the cases involved mutant strains, the mutation test result of one case is pending, and the viral loads of the remaining two cases are insufficient for mutation tests,” the CHP said.
The new cases involved three men, two women, and a 15-year-old girl from the US; three men from Canada; two men from the United Kingdom, a woman from the Philippines; a man from Australia; and a woman from Germany and Spain.
One of the men who returned from the US is the aircrew member who lives at Tower 1, The SeaCrest, 1 Hang Kwai Street, Tuen Mun, which was cordoned off for targeted testing on Tuesday night but no new cases were found.
The CHP said the 15-year-old patient who also returned from the US lives at Tower 6, The Belcher's, Pok Fu Lam. She left Hong Kong on Dec 15 for the US and returned on Dec 26.
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She underwent quarantine at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre and her sample on Dec 27 tested positive. She developed symptoms the following day.
“As a prudent measure, the places where she resided and visited in Hong Kong during the incubation period have been included in a compulsory testing notice," the CHP said.
It added that a total of 109 cases were reported from Dec 15 to 28, including an import-related case while the rest were imported.
Tighter arrival rules
In view of the detection of Omicron cases, the Hong Kong government also announced to list Kazakhstan and Myanmar as Group A specified places from Saturday, with the strictest quarantine arrangements applicable to Kazakhstan.
In view of the earlier detection of imported Omicron cases in Hong Kong from Kazakhstan, the most stringent quarantine and testing requirements will be implemented for inbound travelers from the central Asian country
Non-Hong Kong residents who have stayed in these two countries within 21 days will not be allowed to enter the city, a spokesman for the government said in a statement issued late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong residents who have stayed in these places can only board a flight for Hong Kong if they have been fully vaccinated and hold a recognized COVID-19 jab record.
In view of the earlier detection of imported Omicron cases in Hong Kong from Kazakhstan, the most stringent quarantine and testing requirements will be implemented for inbound travelers from the central Asian country.
Upon arrival, travelers are required to undergo compulsory quarantine at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre for the first four days, during which they have to undergo daily tests and their health condition will be monitored by healthcare professionals.
"On the fifth day of arrival, they will be transferred by designated transport to finish the remaining 17 days of compulsory quarantine at the designated quarantine hotels which they have reserved before coming to Hong Kong," the spokesman said.
They also have to undergo a compulsory test at a community testing center on the 26th day of arrival in Hong Kong.
Those arriving from Myanmar must undergo 21 days of compulsory quarantine in a designated quarantine hotel, during which six virus tests have to be conducted, the spokesman said.
"On the 26th day of arrival in Hong Kong, they must also undergo another compulsory test in a community testing center," according to the government.