'Infected Officer Was Part Of March 31 Operations'

Hong Kong police have confirmed that a sergeant who has now tested positive for the coronavirus had taken part in operations during protests near the Mong Kok Police Station on the evening of March 31.

Police detained and searched 75 people near the Prince Edward MTR station where protesters had gathered to mark a raid into the trains by officers on August 31. Fifty four arrests were also made.

Officers had also courted controversy that day after they asked some of the detained people to remove their face masks and later gave them thinner ones as replacements.

The police said the 46-year-old officer, who is the fourth cop to contract the virus, had taken part in patrols and crowd-management operations in the past two weeks.

He went to a public hospital two days after the Mong Kok protest after feeling unwell. There, a preliminary test showed he had the virus.

The police said he was attached to the Shek Kip Mei station but was not in close contact with a colleague there who had contracted the virus earlier.

His team is now working from home, and station facilities are being disinfected, the department said, adding they are in close contact with the health authorities.

At a daily press briefing, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said they are working with the police to track the movements of the officer during the days before he fell ill.

The officials said the number of virus cases recorded in Hong Kong stands at 862, with 17 new cases added on Saturday.

Seven of the new cases hadn't recently travelled overseas. Officials said two cases, including one involving a 71 year-old man, are linked to bars in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui, where infections have happened.

At least three other cases are linked to people who have previously been diagnosed.