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Coronavirus: virologist Malik Peiris says ‘absolutely not’ an outbreak at University of Hong Kong lab, as more than 300 tests at school net no positives so far
- Hours before city confirms six new cases, Peiris tells Post infection timeline suggests infected researcher ‘certainly acquired it in the community’
- But Centre for Health Protection says laboratory will still investigate its procedures and report findings to authorities
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Leading virologist Professor Malik Peiris, whose University of Hong Kong laboratory has conducted major Covid-19 research, on Monday rejected the idea it was at the centre of a possible new outbreak, saying he believed an infected researcher contracted the virus in the community.
But the university would nevertheless take a hard look at its lab procedures and share the findings in a report to authorities, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said at an afternoon press conference, even as it acknowledged that environmental coronavirus samples taken at the facility were not highly transmissible.
Fears of another potential Hong Kong cluster first emerged after an investigation found nearly 40 per cent of samples taken from surfaces in the lab where the infected researcher worked had tested positive for the virus.
More than 300 staff at the school have been tested in the wake of those findings, with nearly all returning negative results, though some remain pending.
“She had been on leave before [testing positive], so there was no more likely exposure in the lab,” Peiris said of the 28-year-old researcher. “She certainly acquired it in the community.”
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