This photo taken on Feb 6, 2020 shows buildings in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government cordoned off a building in Tuen Mun for targeted testing on Thursday night after a suspected Omicron case was detected in the area.
The government set up a restricted area around 7:30 pm at On Hei House (Block A), Siu Hei Court, 201 Wu Chui Road, Tuen Mun after a 64-year-old airport toilet cleaner who lives in the building tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19.
The Centre for Health Protection said in a statement that it suspects that he might be carrying the Omicron variant.
The government said in a statement that it set up a restricted area around 7:30 pm at On Hei House (Block A), Siu Hei Court, 201 Wu Chui Road, Tuen Mun
Being an airport worker, the patient underwent frequent regular COVID-19 testing and he tested negative ten times from Dec 2 to 20.
But on Wednesday, his specimen tested preliminarily positive for the virus, with a Ct value of about 27 to 32, and he developed symptoms that same day.
Further testing conducted by the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch revealed that the spike protein gene of the patient's sample involved N501Y and T478K mutations.
“Hence, the CHP suspects at this stage that the patient carries the Omicron variant, but a whole genome sequencing still needs to be conducted to confirm whether the patient carries the Omicron variant,” the statement reads.
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The CHP said the patient has no recent travel history. His job was mainly to clean and disinfect a toilet designated for persons from abroad who had tested preliminarily positive and were confined in an area at the Midfield Concourse of the Hong Kong International Airport while waiting for their transfer to a hospital.
The patient's job was mainly to clean and disinfect a toilet designated for persons from abroad who had tested preliminarily positive and were confined in an area at the Midfield Concourse of the Hong Kong International Airport while waiting for their transfer to a hospital
The patient last went to work on Dec 22 and the CHP said he likely acquired the infection while cleaning the toilet.
He had stayed inside a storeroom in the toilet during work and had also been in the toilet even when persons who had tested preliminarily positive were also present, the CHP said.
The CHP conducted a site visit at HKIA on Thursday and collected 26 environmental samples at the storeroom, a changing room and a restroom used by the patient. The test results are pending.
“In view of the relatively high Ct value and multiple negative tests in the past 21 days, the case was likely detected at a very early stage of infection by regular testing,” the CHP said.
The CHP also said that it has advised the Airport Authority Hong Kong and the contractor concerned that cleaners should clean the toilet only after persons who tested preliminarily positive have left, and the cleaners should also not stay inside the storeroom in the toilet when they are not working.
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The places that the patient visited in Hong Kong during the incubation period will be included in a compulsory testing notice, the CHP added.
In a separate statement, the government decided to tighten boarding and quarantine requirements for arrivals from Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Saint Martin (French part) and Venezuela after Omicron cases were found in these places.
Starting Dec 26, non-Hong Kong residents who have stayed in these areas within 21 days will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong.
Hong Kong residents can only board a flight for the SAR if they have been fully vaccinated and hold a recognized vaccination record.
Once they land in Hong Kong, they will undergo quarantine in a designated hotel for 21 days, get tested six times during their stay there, and undergo another test on the 26th day after their arrival.