by The SUN
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| The 2 Omicron carriers flew in on the same cargo plane from Kenya, UAE, India and Uganda |
Two more Omicron cases
were reported in by health authorities, bringing to 11 the total number
patients found with the new, highly contagious variant.
The two patients are both male air cargo crew who flew in together on Dec 15 aboard flight ACP502 which came from Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, India and Uganda. Both tested positive on their arrival at Hong Kong Airport.
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However, one, who is 27 years old, was confirmed to have Covid-19 yesterday, while the second, who is 41, was in today’s list of confirmed cases.
The whole genomic sequencing of the virus each carried showed the presence of the Omicron variant with the N501Y mutant strain.
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The older man was asymptomatic and had received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Kenya in April and July. The Centre for Health Protection said the patient had reported contracting Covid-19 in Kenya in July 2020. After investigation, the CHP concluded that the case was a new infection.
The younger man developed symptoms on his arrival on Dec 15. The Ct value for the test after his admission to hospital is over 30, indicating a low viral load, and he tested positive for antibodies. He had been fully jabbed with the Moderna vaccine in Kenya.
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Meanwhile, an investigation into the case of another cargo air crew who tested preliminary positive last night and was confirmed to have Covid-19 today, is still ongoing.
CHP has said the 36-year-old Cathay crew who was exempted from quarantine, had both the N501Y and T478K mutations, indicating that he might be an Omicron carrier as well.
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Today the CHP ordered six more compulsory tests for residents of Cheung Hing Building in Yau Ma Tei where the patient lives. An overnight lockdown of the building last night yielded no new Covid-19 infection.
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| More tests have been ordered for residents of the building where the CX cargo crew lives |
The nine previous Omicron cases involved two travelers linked to South Africa, two who arrived from Nigeria, two from the United Kingdom and one from Tanzania.
Today’s five other new cases included another male air crew who flew in from Portugal, Canada and the United States and carried no mutant strain. The 30-year-old was asymptomatic but tested positive on his arrival at Hong Kong Airport.
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Another confirmed case is a two-year-old girl who was moved to Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre after being identified as a close contact of a previously infected patient. The girl came from Argentina and Germany on Dec 15 and was found to carry the L452R mutant strain.
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The three others include a 30-year-old man who came from Ghana via Qatar and a 27-year-old man who flew in the Bahamas via the United States who both arrived on Dec 15 and tested positive at the airport; and a 24-year-old woman who came from the United Kingdom on Dec 13 and was found infected on her third day of hotel quarantine.
They took Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 infections to 12,514, which include one probable case.
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