Hong Kong airport worker confirmed with Covid-19, sparking temporary closure of two schools and suspension of children’s soccer training
- Case involving aircraft repairman, 40, is fifth infection of unknown origin recorded over the past week
- Kindergarten and primary school attended by two children closed for two days
The Centre for Health Protection said on Thursday that the 40-year-old man, who worked at Hong Kong International Airport, had contact with cargo aircraft staff. His case was among the seven recorded on Thursday as another Covid-19 patient died.
The latest fatality, a 78-year-old man, had fought the virus for more than three months but died in Princess Margaret Hospital on Thursday afternoon. He had been a resident of Sham Shui Po King Fok Nursing Home where a coronavirus cluster had been reported.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the infected airport worker had heard there were confirmed Covid-19 cases among the cargo staff.
“We are still investigating details of the roster and whether there were indeed those [confirmed] cases,” Chuang said. “It is possible that at the end of our investigation we will identify [the man’s] contacts with some confirmed cases. It could then be a case linked with other infections.”
The community infection was the fifth of unknown origin recorded over the past week.