Coronavirus cluster with more transmissive Omicron subvariant expands to Wan Chai; Hong Kong logs 250 new cases
- Authorities confirm four people carrying same variant that infected residents involved in cluster tied to McDonald’s in Tai Koo Shing
- Health official says no need to worry about wider outbreak on Hong Kong Island as new strain and dominant subvariant in city are similar
A coronavirus cluster involving a more transmissive Omicron subvariant has expanded to Wan Chai, but a health official says there is no need to worry about a wider outbreak on Hong Kong Island.
The city recorded 250 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, including 29 imported cases, as well as one additional virus-related death. The latest infections took the city’s overall Covid-19 tally to 1,211,588, with 9,375 related deaths.
Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer at the Centre for Health Protection, said authorities had confirmed that four people included in the virus caseload announced on Thursday had been infected with the BA.2.12.1 subvariant.
The patients were carrying the same variant that infected residents involved in a cluster tied to a McDonald’s in Tai Koo Shing, he said, bringing the total number of infections to 16.
The new cases linked to the outbreak were a 63-year-old female cleaner at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, who infected two of her family members, and a woman who worked at Immigration Tower in Wan Chai.