Omicron: Hong Kong faces new Covid-19 cluster linked to hotpot restaurant as more infections tied to bank outbreak surface
- Health officials voice concern about possible transmission at a Nabe Urawa restaurant in Causeway Bay
- In North Point, 14 households ordered to leave Maple Gardens Phase Three after experts detect vertical transmission of virus
On Wednesday, hundreds thronged Covid-19 testing stations in Tuen Mun, with some residents complaining of long waiting times and chaotic arrangements. Authorities have deemed the district a high-risk area because of a higher number of infections.
Health officials said sewage testing would be conducted in Tuen Mun to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, but a string of preliminary-positive cases detected across the city suggested a wider, more worrying situation.
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Return of Hong Kong’s social distancing restrictions deals heavy blow to restaurants
They included a 20-year-old University of Hong Kong student who had dinner at a Japanese hotpot restaurant in Causeway Bay last Tuesday.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said authorities were “concerned” about possible transmission in the Nabe Urawa restaurant as an earlier confirmed case, a 32-year-old woman, had also been there around the same time, separated by a row of tables from the student.
“Transmission might have occurred in this restaurant, similar to what had happened in some other places,” Chuang said. “As we found in the previous waves of infections, hotpot could make transmission of viruses easier because of aerosol spread.”