Covid-19 infections surge to 60 in Hong Kong as gym cluster grows, while banks and law firms also hit
- Health officials say 47 of the latest infections linked to Ursus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun
- Businesses in Central report cases, including HSBC and law firm Allen & Overy
Even as authorities decided that all gym employees across the city would have to be tested for Covid-19 by Sunday, they were monitoring another worrying development as a series of infections emerged among white-collar staff at major banks and law firms.
Officials said 47 of the latest cases were tied to Ursus Fitness in the Sai Ying Pun area, taking the number of infected employees, customers and their close contacts to 64. Another 360 people deemed at risk have been ordered into quarantine and 450 others have been told to undergo screening.
“Many of them were not wearing masks when exercising,” the Centre for Health Protection’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said of the patrons. “They attended some group exercises which may involve as many as 10 students. Most of the staff have already been infected.”
Chuang warned that some infected Ursus Fitness users had passed the virus onto others who had not visited the gym, and those people could then infect others.