Coronavirus | HK sees 3 new imported cases, including 1 variant infection

Hong Kong on Friday (Sept. 17) reported three new imported COVID-19 cases, including one variant strain infection, bringing the city's tally to 12,152.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the new patients involved a 45-year-old man who traveled from Germany, a 47-year-old man who flew in from Qatar and a 53-year-old man who arrived from the United Arab Emirates. They have all been fully vaccinated and were asymptomatic.

The 53-old-year patient, who lives at Aigburth, Mid-levels, carried the L452R mutant strain, the CHP said. He traveled to India on Aug 31 on flight EK385 and tested negative in Hong Kong the day before.

He returned to Hong Kong on Sept 13 on flight EK384. His specimen collected upon arrival at the Hong Kong airport tested negative but he tested positive for the variant two days later, the CHP said.

He last went to work at the International Commerce Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on Aug 27.

"As a prudent measure, the buildings where he resided and worked in Hong Kong during the incubation period will be included in a compulsory testing notice," the CHP said.

Meanwhile, the CHP said it was investigating two overseas cases of COVID-19.

The first case is a re-positive case involving a 36-year-old man who lives at 7 Lyttelton Road, Mid-levels. He was fully vaccinated with two doses of the Comirnaty vaccine. He traveled to the United States on Aug 19 and tested negative in Hong Kong on the same day. He later tested positive in the US on Aug 29.

His PCR test result returned negative on Sept 7 and he returned to Hong Kong on Sept 11, during which he tested negative for COVID-19. Subsequently, his sample collected on Sept 14 tested positive for COVID-19 and the result showed he was infected with the L452R mutant strain.

He works at 18/F, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Central, and last went to work on Aug 19. The buildings where he resided and worked in Hong Kong during the incubation period will also be included in a compulsory testing notice, the CHP said.

The other overseas case involved a 16-year-old woman, who traveled to the UK on Sept 6. She had tested negative in Hong Kong two days before her departure. Subsequently, her specimen collected in the UK on Sept 9 tested positive.

The teenager, who lives at Block 9, Villa Esplanada, 8 Nga Ying Chau Street, Tsing Yi, was fully vaccinated with the Comirnaty vaccine in Hong Kong. Compulsory testing notices have been issued for places that she had visited during the incubation period.

The CHP said it was following up on the case with the health authorities in the UK.

(With inputs from agencies)