People walk through the markets in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong on August 9, 2021. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported on Sunday five new imported COVID-19 cases, including the infection of a nine-month old baby boy, bringing the city’s tally to 12,057.
The Centre for Health Protection said in a statement that the infant was from the United Arab Emirates and did not have any symptoms.
The Centre for Health Protection said in a statement that the infant was from the United Arab Emirates and did not have any symptoms
The other new patients included a 25-year-old man who traveled from the Philippines; a 31-year-old woman from Indonesia; and two men, aged 19 and 56, from the UAE.
The man from the Philippines had taken one shot of the Janssen vaccine on Aug 13 while he was in that country while the woman from Indonesia received two Sinovac doses in Hong Kong on March 23 and April 20.
The 19-year-old man from UAE also got two Sinovac in Hong Kong on March 20 and May 1 and had also tested positive for antibodies on July 12.
On the other hand, the 57-year-old man from UAE received two doses of the Comirnaty vaccine in that country on July 7 and July 31.
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Meanwhile, the CHP also clarified that a 32-year-old man who was previously considered as infected with the virus actually had a strain found in vaccines.
The man's throat specimen taken in a clinic of a private doctor on August 16 had tested positive for the virus but with a low viral load but he tested negative for COVID-19 and antibodies when he was tested after being admitted to a hospital.
The CHP said the private doctor had administered vaccines to other persons at the clinic before he took the specimen for the patient.
According to the genetic analysis of the patient's specimen conducted by the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, it was compatible with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine strain.
The CHP said his case will longer be considered as a COVID-19 infection and his close contacts have been released from the quarantine centre after they also tested negative for the virus.
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A total of 41 cases were reported from Aug 8 to 21, including a local case with unknown sources and an import-related case, the CHP added.