'Easing Restrictions Could Allow Mutant Strains In'

Infectious disease expert Joseph Tsang on Tuesday cautioned the government against relaxing quarantine requirements for incoming travellers – even those from countries considered to be ‘low risk’ – saying such a move could introduce mutated strains of the coronavirus to Hong Kong and trigger another wave of infections.

Local authorities have said the 21-day compulsory quarantine period imposed on travellers from ‘low-risk’ places such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore could soon be cut to 14 days, though they would have to self-monitor their health condition for an additional week, and submit to a Covid test 19 days after they arrive.

But Dr Tsang, from the Medical Association, noted that mutated strains of coronavirus – which have so far not led to any known local infections in Hong Kong – can now be found around the globe.

"When the mutated virus strains are everywhere in the world, it's hard to say what places are high risk or low risk," he said on an RTHK radio programme.

"So the Hong Kong government or the Centre for Health Protection needs to watch closely the mutated virus strain situation in the world, especially in places considered to be low-risk."

While Hong Kong has identified scores of infections involving mutated strains of coronavirus, they have all been imported cases, and there have so far been no known local infections involving a variant coronavirus strain.

An expert from a government panel, Professor Lau Yu-lung, warned last month that in around ten percent of cases involving mutated strains, the subjects only tested positive for Covid-19 after they had already spent 14 days in quarantine, meaning the 21-day quarantine period is needed to prevent the variant strains from getting out into the community.

Hong Kong has seen a recent rise in the number of imported coronavirus cases.

However, Tsang said he doesn’t see the need for Hong Kong to completely ban flights from ‘high-risk’ countries such as the the Philippines, India and Pakistan, just yet, saying authorities would first have to assess the impact of such a move on the overall community – including on families waiting for foreign domestic helpers.

But Professor Ho Pak-Leung from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, repeated his call for a travel ban on these high-risk places, as the three countries have contributed to many recent imported infections in the SAR.

He told a Commercial Radio programme that the mutated virus strains from these countries could lead to another mass outbreak in Hong Kong.