Hong Kong fourth wave: testing ordered for customers of luxury salon in Central after staff among 96 new Covid-19 cases confirmed
- Cluster adds to existing outbreaks at public housing estates that officials are racing to contain
- Health experts say instances of side effects from vaccine shots should be expected but they will be rare
The cluster adds to existing outbreaks at public housing estates that officials are racing to contain with mandatory screening and quarantine orders.
Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Chui Tak-yi warned on Thursday that the latest data showed the transmission risk of the coronavirus remained high. Between December 10 and Wednesday, 37 per cent of local cases were untraceable, an increase from 30 per cent the week prior. Asymptomatic carriers made up 23 per cent of total infections in the past two weeks.
“There is still no sign of alleviation in the Covid-19 pandemic yet,” Chui said. “We urge the public not to stay in crowded or poorly ventilated places unless it is necessary, and do not arrange or join any gatherings.”
More people have been required to undergo mandatory quarantine, after four barbers working at Glow Spa and Salon at Silver Fortune Plaza on Wellington Street in Central were confirmed as infected, along with one patron. Authorities said anyone who had visited the spa since December 8 must undergo screening.
Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert from Chinese University and a government adviser on the pandemic, said transmission could have happened unwittingly in a salon.