HK Reports First Local Covid-19 Case In 10 Days

A Virgin Atlantic ground staff is Hong Kong's first local coronavirus infection in 10 days, and 69 of her colleagues are being tested as a precaution.

The 47-year-old woman is one of two new Covid-19 cases reported by health authorities on Sunday. Officials say she started coughing on April 6 and sought treatment at the airport's clinic twice.

She visited North Lantau Hospital on Friday and left deep saliva tests, and was confirmed with coronavirus on Saturday.

The patient's daily work is to direct passengers coming in from the UK through baggage claim and immigration. The Centre for Health Protection's Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said she might have come into "indirect contact" with some confirmed patients at the airport.

The woman lives alone in Tung Chung. Dr Chuang doesn't believe she had visited any high-risk places or hung out with others.

Some of her colleagues who shared meals with her were sent to quarantine after being listed as her close contacts.

Dr Chuang said one of the woman's co-workers, who shared a meal with her, is symptomatic and is now in hospital.

With the city's first local Covid-19 case with unknown source reported since April 9, Dr Chuang was asked if this is time for the government to relax anti-epidemic measures.

"From a public health perspective, it's better to practice social distancing for as long as possible. But the government will have other considerations other than public health, so [the matter] is up to the government," she told reporters at a daily briefing.

Dr Chuang said the government is considering whether to extend public gathering restrictions and immigration control.

She said from a scientific point of view, after a confirmed patient is taken to hospital, there should be 35 days of no new local cases before officials can declare that there are no more local transmission of coronavirus.

A government medical adviser, David Hui from the Chinese University, has suggested that officials should wait for a 28-day clearance before relaxing the measures.

The other new confirmed Covid-19 patient on Sunday is a 35-year-old man who returned from the UK two days ago. This brings the tally in Hong Kong so far to 1,025.

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