Coronavirus: first Hong Kong case ‘likely’ to involve Delta variant breaks city’s 16-day run of zero local infections

About 180 people quarantined as overnight lockdown and mandatory testing in Tai Po, where patient lives, uncovers no cases among 2,100 residents screened

Officials signal the worrying new development will not interfere with a plan to relax quarantine requirements for city arrivals

Reading Time:4 minutes

Residents queue for testing at a mobile specimen collection station at a transport interchange. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Victor Ting,Elizabeth CheungandGigi Choy

Published: 6:15pm, 24 Jun 2021Updated: 7:44am, 25 Jun 2021

Hong Kong has confirmed what is likely to be its first community coronavirus case involving the more transmissible Delta variant, ending a 16-day run of zero local infections, with health authorities racing to identify the source and contain its spread, putting about 180 people into quarantine.

But officials have signalled the worrying development will not derail a plan – slated to take effect at the end of the month – to reduce the mandatory quarantine period to seven days for fully vaccinated travellers who meet certain coronavirus testing conditions on entering the city.

Authorities investigating Thursday’s suspected local infection revealed they would turn their attention to a possible spread at the airport where the 27-year-old patient works, after a sudden overnight lockdown and mandatory testing in Tai Po, where the patient lives, uncovered no cases among 2,100 residents screened.

Centre for Health Protection controller Dr Ronald Lam Man-kin put the city on alert by warning of the higher transmissibility, severity of illnesses and viral load associated with the Delta variant, first found in India, and urged residents to get vaccinated for protection.

“We can see the threat from variants is increasing by the day, because their transmissibility is extremely high,” Lam told a regular press briefing. “The patient and his family have no record of vaccination, therefore their risk of catching and spreading the disease is higher.”

Health officials also confirmed six imported Covid-19 cases on Thursday, involving four overseas students returning from Britain, and two arrivals from Indonesia. They all contained the L452R mutation linked to several coronavirus variants including the Delta one.