Coronavirus: Hong Kong detects cases of more transmissive Omicron subvariant but expert says chance of large outbreak is slim
- Health officials say a couple were found to be infected with the BA.2.12.1 subvariant at a community testing centre last Saturday
- Residents have no cause for concern as long as they have received their Covid-19 shots, professor says, adding city has a ‘strong immunity barrier’
A more transmissive Omicron subvariant could have entered the community for the first time, Hong Kong health authorities revealed on Friday, but a top government pandemic adviser said a large outbreak was unlikely as most people had already been vaccinated or previously infected with the coronavirus.
Health officials on Friday said a couple were found to be infected with the BA.2.12.1 subvariant at a community testing centre last Saturday, the 12th day after they arrived from San Francisco. They spent five days in the community after leaving their quarantine hotel in Lan Kwai Fong on May 10.
At the same time, a father and son, who were staying in the hotel after returning from Nepal on May 7, were also found to be infected with BA.2.12.1 on the fourth and fifth day of their quarantine. The two families had stayed on the 32nd and 33rd floors of the property, the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel @ Kau U Fong.
Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer at the Centre for Health Protection, said genome sequencing on virus samples from three of the travellers were identical, adding that it was possible the subvariant had spread in the community.
“This is the first time someone infected with BA.2.12.1 has tested positive in the community after completing quarantine at a hotel,” he said.
“They did visit some restaurants and removed their masks. But they stayed at home most of the time and wore masks on the streets.”
The authorities issued compulsory testing notices to 11 places the couple had visited and would closely monitor any emergence of new cases linked to the subvariant.