By The SUN
 |
| 70 Covid-19 cases have now emerged from this restaurant in Sheung Wan |
More cases of Covid-19 infections have emerged in three
eateries where outbreaks have been identified.
These include six new cases linked to the Imperial
Kitchen in Kwun Tong, taking the total tally there to 26; six in Sky Cuisine
restaurant in Sheung Wan where there are now 70 cases; and three to TamJai
Yunnan Mixian in Tung Chung, raising the number of infections there to six.
The new cases were among 329 reported by the Centre
for Health Protection on Wednesday, which raised the tally from the
fifth wave of the pandemic to 1.196 million.
Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection
said the new infections included 31 imported cases, 10 of which were detected at
the airport. The patients flew in from the United Kingdom, the United States,
Canada and Japan.
Nineteen patients tested positive during the
seven-day hotel quarantine while two were found infected on the 12th
day of their arrival. Au said the two both arrived on May 5 from the UK and are
classified as re-positive cases.
Au reiterated suspicions that some patients from the
Imperial Kitchen cluster had given false statements to authorities.
"We now know that there were people who went to
the venue and attended gatherings. There were chats, there was eating, and they
were taking off their masks," Au said.
But whether action will be taken against those who
had given wrong information will depend on whether there is enough proof to
back up such an assumption.
If there is, Au said CHP will refer the matter to
law enforcers.
He added that since the place was not a licensed
restaurant but private premises, the matter has been referred to the Food and
Environmental Hygiene Department for further investigations.
The 26 patients in the cluster make up more than
half of 47 people who had gathered in the private venue on May 9 to talk, eat
and drink.
Meanwhile, Au said genome sequencing had shown that cases
linked to Sky Cuisine and those in nearby Sai Wan Estate were “almost
identical.” That suggested that the outbreak in the eatery could have been started
by a staff member who lives in the estate.
Au also reported the city’s eighth Omicron BA.4 case.
The patient is a 29-year-old woman who arrived from the UK on May 8, and was
tested positive on her fifth day in quarantine.
Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said four
more Covid-related deaths were recorded on Tuesday, which took the city’s death
toll to 9,152.
The deceased involved three men and a woman aged 64
to 90.
Lau said that of the 641 patients being treated in
public hospitals and treatment centers, 13 were in serious condition, and three
in critical condition have been admitted to the intensive care unit.
