Quarry Bay Building Partly Evacuated Over Covid

Authorities began partially evacuating a residential building in Quarry Bay on Monday after an overnight lockdown found three Covid-19 carriers, on top of an earlier handful of cases there.

After inspecting Wai Lee Building in the afternoon, University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said there was evidence of vertical transmission, either via the sewage system or along the enclosed light well, under the so-called "chimney effect".

"The infected air expired or exhaled from the patient of unit 1404 is ascending the light well or ascending inside the sewage tracks, which leads to the infection of other residents in the upper floors," he said.

Residents of flat number 4 on each floor were being sent into quarantine as a precaution.

Yuen noted that two form six students at Shau Kei Wan Government Secondary School were among those from the residential block testing positive.

The microbiologist said the pupils probably did not contract the virus at school, but officials were quarantining dozens of other students there over fears they could have caught it from the pair.

Yuen said as long as the authorities are able to contain the virus, there's no reason for the government to change its plan to allow schools to resume some classes after the Lunar New Year.