Omicron: ‘high risk’ of infection in 5 Hong Kong districts of Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long in coming week, study shows
- Study shows Tsuen Wan expected to become high-risk area on Wednesday, gradually followed by Sha Tin, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long over following days
- Findings also show risk of Omicron will still be on the rise in the next seven days despite signs tough preventive measures are helping to slow down spread
People who frequent the Hong Kong districts of Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long in the coming week could face a “high risk” of getting infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to a study by Polytechnic University.
The findings, released on Tuesday, also showed the risk of Omicron in Hong Kong would still be on the rise in the next seven days despite signs that the government’s anti-pandemic measures were working to slow down the spread.
The research predicted that Tsuen Wan would become a high-risk area on Wednesday, followed by Sha Tin on Thursday and Kowloon Bay on Friday.
Over the weekend, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long would become high-risk districts too.
Six high-risk areas had already been identified as of Tuesday. They are Tuen Mun, Kowloon Tong, North Point, Causeway Bay, Happy Valley and Tai Po.
The predictions on the Omicron spread were part of a study by a team of experts in spatial big data, led by the director of the university’s smart cities research institute Professor John Shi Wenzhong.
Shi’s team studied the locations where patients lived, places they had visited, the time when they developed symptoms, residents’ mobility and vaccination rates, and the analyses of big data of the city’s traffic and people movements.