Coronavirus: Hong Kong schoolgirl tests positive for mutated strain, putting 42-day streak of zero untraceable local cases at risk

The 17-year-old pupil, who has no travel history, returned a positive result for the N501Y mutation, which is linked to more infectious variants

Possible infection triggers mandatory testing for about 4,000 visitors who attended May 29 expo

Reading Time:2 minutes

The girl was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital on Thursday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Elizabeth Cheung,Olga WongandVictor Ting

Published: 4:37pm, 4 Jun 2021Updated: 10:50pm, 4 Jun 2021

A 17-year-old school pupil with no travel history has tested preliminary-positive for a coronavirus variant, with the case potentially ending Hong Kong’s 42-day streak of no local untraceable infections.

The schoolgirl’s possible infection – from an unknown source so far – also triggered a lockdown for testing of residents in Tin Shing Court’s Shing Yu House in Tin Shui Wai. About 4,000 people who visited an international exhibition on May 29 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai also face mandatory screening if they have not been vaccinated.

The girl had visited the education expo at 4pm that day. Education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung also attended but has been fully vaccinated.

It was unclear on Friday if the teenager had come into contact with others who had a travel history, a medical source said, adding that an investigation was under way.

The student developed a runny nose and a fever on Wednesday. She was tested on Thursday and returned a positive result for the N501Y mutation of the virus, which is linked to more infectious variants. The patient was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital on the same day.

Since the pupil’s specimen involved the N501Y mutation, it was likely to be a true infection, rather than one contaminated by traces of a Covid-19 vaccine, as happened in the recent case of a 35-year-old policeman, Chinese University’s Professor David Hui Shu-cheong said.