Coronavirus: International alert as Hong Kong skiers return from Whistler and Vancouver infected with Covid-19
- Hong Kong authorities have alerted Canadian counterparts after the two women tested positive immediately upon their return from an eight-day ski holiday
- The coronavirus cases are classified as imported from Canada, as Hong Kong tries to trace people who shared their return flight
Two Hong Kong women have tested positive for Covid-19 upon returning from a Canadian skiing holiday in Whistler and Vancouver, triggering an international investigation into their cases.
The women were tested on Sunday, the day of their return from Canada, and the tests came back positive the next day, Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said on Tuesday. The friends had been in Canada from March 6 until Saturday.
Although the women were still in Hong Kong within the assumed 14-day incubation period, authorities there have classified the case as an imported infection from Canada.
They have alerted Canadian authorities while they attempt to trace the women’s contacts. The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection is trying to trace passengers who were on the women’s return flight from Vancouver, but not their earlier outward flight.
The women, aged 41 and 42, were aboard Cathay Pacific flight CX837, which departed Vancouver International Airport on Saturday at 2.22pm. All passengers who shared the business-class cabin with the women have been urged to contact health authorities in Hong Kong via a hotline, +852 2125 1122.
