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Hong Kong at risk of Omicron wave after 2 local Covid-19 cases tied to Cathay aircrew member infected with variant

  • Health chief Sophia Chan calls local infections ‘extremely worrying’, adding: ‘We must all do our part and stop a fifth wave outbreak’
  • Anyone visiting restaurants, cinemas and gyms, among other venues, must have at least one shot of vaccine against Covid-19, beginning before Lunar New Year

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The Moon Palace restaurant in the Festival Walk mall has been closed after a Cathay worker infected with Omicron dined there. Photo: Felix Wong
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Hong Kong is facing a possible flood of Omicron infections after two residents suspected to be carrying the highly transmissible variant became the first local coronavirus cases in more than 80 days, health authorities have warned, as they revealed plans to expand a vaccine bubble to cover most public places before the Lunar New Year.

Officials on Friday said the pair were linked to a Cathay Pacific aircrew member who was confirmed as carrying Omicron, one of four infected airline employees who flouted home isolation rules by visiting locations across the city over the past week.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor summoned the airline’s top executives to a meeting at which she expressed her “grave concerns” and demanded a review of the incidents, according to health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee.

Cathay later chastised the employees for their “extremely disappointing” behaviour in a public apology and said they had been suspended.

“This is the first time we found local infection cases involving the Omicron variant strain,” the minister said. “It shows that imported cases have now found a way into the community leading to a cluster of infections. This latest development is extremely worrying. We must all do our part and stop a fifth wave outbreak.”

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