Secondary School Girl Contracts UK Covid-19 Variant
"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("
"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "https://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1594418_1_20210605113418.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1594418-20210605.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1594418-20210605.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });
2021-06-05 HKT 11:43
Share this story
Dr Gilman Siu speaks to Wendy Wong
Latest genetic analysis showed on Saturday that a secondary school girl who tested preliminary positive for the coronavirus has contracted a variant of Covid-19 that was first detected in the UK.
It is the first time the UK variant, with a scientific name of B.1.1.7 and labelled by the World Health Organisation as Alpha, has been detected in Hong Kong.
The source of the girl’s infection remains unknown.
Dr Gilman Siu from the Polytechnic University’s Department of Health Technology and Informatics carried out the genome sequencing of the virus.
He said the case could be highly infectious.
“The variant with this mutation has been reported to be more transmissible. The patient is harbouring a very high viral load. That means it’s even more transmissible and very infectious,” he said.
It is the first untraceable coronavirus infection reported in Hong Kong after 42 days of zero cases.
Meanwhile, the government said no coronavirus cases were found at a Tin Shui Wai housing block where the girl lives.
The block, Shing Yu House at Tin Shing Court, was locked down on Friday night, during which 850 residents were tested.
Residents at the building will be tested again four more times in the next two weeks as a precaution.
Five Years In: Lessons From Asias Digital Bank Revolution | David Becker, MD APAC, Mambu
Digital banking in Asia was supposed to change the world. Five years later, did it live up to the hype? In this in-dept... Read more
19th Asian Financial Forum To Spotlight Finance And Global Opportunities
The 19th Asian Financial Forum (AFF), co-organised by the Hong Kong SAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development ... Read more
HK Banks Launch Money Safe Service To Protect Deposits
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) announced on 30 December that all... Read more
HashKey Lists On Hong Kong Exchange
HashKey listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, becoming the first digital asset company t... Read more
North Korea Linked To Over Half Of 2025 Crypto Heist Losses
TRM has published new research showing that North Korea-linked actors were responsible for more than half of the US$2.7... Read more
South Korea Forms Task Force After Coupang Data Breach
The South Korean government announced on Thursday (19 December) that it will establish an interagency task force to add... Read more