Hong Kong’s taxi driver cluster grows, as city confirms four new Covid-19 cases on eve of tougher quarantine rules

Hong Kong’s cluster of infected taxi drivers continued to grow on Tuesday, on the eve of the government imposing tougher quarantine rules designed to curb Covid-19’s silent spread in the community.

A 29-year-old man infected locally through an unknown source was among the city’s four newly confirmed coronavirus cases, the rest of which were all imported.

A taxi driver, 76, also preliminarily tested positive on Tuesday, taking to five the number of cabbies contracting the coronavirus this month, in what experts said bore an alarming resemblance to the pattern of previous contagion surges.

In an attempt to stave off a potential fourth wave of Covid-19, the government from Wednesday is banning people from visiting those under quarantine. A government expert told the Post that local hotels were recalibrating the digital keys to guest rooms so people under quarantine could only open their door once to enter, in a major step-up of isolation measures.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the Transport Department had already started a fresh round of testing for cabbies.

“I think the taxi driver case may signify that this occupation is a high-risk one. That’s why the government is arranging targeted group testing … to see if there are any other taxi drivers infected,” she said.

The 76-year-old taxi driver, from Sha Tin, was one of fewer than 10 preliminary positive cases revealed on Tuesday. The cabbie, who usually works in Kowloon, developed a mild cough on November 10, before suffering from shortness of breath on Monday.

The case triggered the temporary suspension of classes at Hoi Ping Chamber of Commerce Secondary School in Ho Man Tin, where a member of the driver’s family works. The closure, to allow for disinfection, would run until at least the release of the staff member’s test results.