EditorialCoronavirus: suspected Delta case in Hong Kong calls for rules rethink
- Easing of social-distancing restrictions needs to be reviewed and maybe put on hold as city reports first local Covid-19 infection in more than two weeks
Just as the long-awaited easing of Covid-19 health restrictions kicked in after more than two weeks of zero local cases, a Hong Kong resident with no travel history has come down with a more infectious strain, possibly the city’s first locally transmitted Delta variant case.
Not only has it dashed hopes of an early reopening of borders with the mainland and Macau, but also there are doubts whether it is time to relax social-distancing and quarantine rules.
The immediate lockdown on Wednesday of a Tai Po residential block where the man lives for overnight mandatory virus tests underlines the severity of the matter. The tests were also extended to eight premises, including the international airport and a shopping centre where the 27-year-old worked.
Separately, the detection of a high viral load in neighbourhood sewage samples prompted another test order covering a wider area. While results in the lockdown operation have all proved negative and provided some relief, those regarding close contacts of the patient and the wider tests are still pending.
02:09
Hong Kong to shorten mandatory quarantine to 7 days for fully vaccinated residents, travellers
Authorities are investigating whether the airport ground service worker, who had not been vaccinated, contracted the mutant strain from aircrew members. But the emergence of local infections after a 16-day break suggests there may still be hidden transmission chains in the community.