Coronavirus: three cases of new Mu variant found in Hong Kong arrivals, authorities reveal
- Two of the patients – a 19-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman – had flown in from Colombia and were confirmed infected in early June
- World Health Organization has said Mu variant has a number of mutations suggesting it could be more resistant to vaccines
Two of the patients – a 19-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman – had flown in from Colombia and were confirmed to have the Mu variant in early June, while the other, a 26-year-old woman, arrived from the United States, health authorities said on Friday. She was found to be infected on July 24.
The development came as the city confirmed four new imported Covid-19 cases, all involving domestic workers who arrived from the Philippines.
About 4,500 infections involving the Mu variant, known scientifically as B. 1.621, have been reported across the world, with more than half discovered in the US, according to the University of Hong Kong’s Dr Ho Pak-leung, who uncovered two of the three local cases while examining a government database open to the public.
Local health authorities had not reported any cases involving the Mu variant until Ho, an infectious diseases specialist, made his discovery public.