Omicron Hong Kong: ethnic minority leaders urge members to get tested as Sham Shui Po cluster grows, but chief imam warns ‘no community group should be blamed’
- The district has seen a rising number of cases sparked by a cross infection at the Silka Seaview quarantine hotel
- Gatherings have been suspended, as authorities continue to urge residents in the area to get screened
Community leaders from ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po are urging members to get tested for Covid-19, as a growing Omicron cluster in the area has led to suspended religious gatherings and activities.
The district has become a new high-risk area with an expanding cluster of cases believed to have been sparked by a cross infection at the Silka Seaview quarantine hotel, where a woman returning from Pakistan tested positive days after she completed her 21-day quarantine and returned to her home in Sham Shui Po.
Sixteen cases have been linked so far to the cluster, including pupils studying in an international school in Mei Foo.
Mufti Muhammad Arshad, the current chief imam for Hong Kong, said he had appealed to his community to get tested and vaccinated as soon as possible, but added that ethnic minority groups should not be blamed for the infections.
“She did not bring the virus from Pakistan, but instead got infected during her quarantine in Hong Kong,” he said, adding the woman and her family were doing well and recovering in hospital.
“No community or group should be blamed for infection, which is without ethnicity or background,” he added.
A district with residents from diverse ethnic backgrounds, Sham Shui Po has a population of 406,000, with about 382,000 Chinese inhabitants, while the rest belong to ethnic minority communities, such as Filipinos, Indonesians and Pakistanis.