Officials Scramble To Trace How Boy, 4, Caught Covid

Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Sunday that the authorities were stepping up contact tracing in the hope of finding out how a four-year-old child was infected with Covid-19.

The boy was confirmed to have the virus on Saturday, making him the first untraceable local Covid case in a week.

Speaking on a radio programme, Chan said she was worried that the case showed there was still silent transmission of the virus in the community, and the authorities would do all they could to identify where he caught the virus.

She said all of the child's close contacts were being placed into quarantine at a hotel, including his schoolmates from a Ho Man Tin kindergarten, who are accompanied by their families.

"We have specially prepared, with the Social Welfare Department, toys, children's books and [other] things children need, hoping to fulfill their needs during quarantine. We have asked the hotel to prepare suitable food."

She said the authorities would be doing more rounds of contact tracing as well, with mandatory testing orders being imposed for places the boy had been to and stayed at.

The health chief said the government has been looking for a different meal provider for people in quarantine after some complained of food poisoning.

Meanwhile, Chan said the authorities were discussing with some sectors and organisations the idea of offering vaccines in the community, but would be cautious about extending vaccinations beyond its dedicated centres.

She said after the radio programme that officials would consider whether the organisations were able to observe patients after their jabs, and promised that the services provided in any outreach programme would at least match those in a vaccination centre.