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‘Chimney effect’ may be spreading Covid-19 at large private housing estate in Hong Kong, health expert says
- Residents in every E flat of Block 5 have been evacuated after cases emerged on three floors
- Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, who inspected the site, said they might have been exposed to infected aerosol rising up lightwells
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A leading microbiologist is looking into how Covid-19 has spread in one of Hong Kong’s largest middle-class private estates, with the “chimney effect” possibly vertically transmitting the virus.
Built in the early 1990s, Laguna City, in Lam Tin in Kwun Tong, is one of the city’s earliest large-scale private housing estates, consisting of 38 blocks and more than 8,000 residential units.
Similar to Taikoo Shing, the estate is home to many middle-class families and professionals, overlooking Victoria Harbour.
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A partial evacuation order was issued for Block 5 on Monday after at least 10 cases had emerged in the building over the past two weeks, mostly in flat “E” across multiple floors.
Two security guards at the estate have also been confirmed as carrying the virus, with one living on Reclamation Street in Yau Tsim Mong, which is also battling outbreaks.
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