Hong Kong to quarantine some residents after local COVID-19 variant found

Several Hong Kong residents are set to quarantine for 21 days in the region after a locally acquired case of a coronavirus variant was discovered in their apartment building.

The residents of a 400-unit apartment building will be quarantined for a 21 day period to allow for them to all be tested, according to Bloomberg News.

A 39-year-old woman, who works as a domestic helper, was the first person living in the complex to test positive for the variant, government officials said. A 10-month-old baby who lived with the woman was also found to be infected with the variant, the news outlet noted.

The apartment building was locked down on Thursday night and all residents were required to take COVID-19 tests. They will wait out the remainder of their quarantine in centers designated by the government even if their test results come back negative.

Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan announced Friday that all foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong will need to get tested for COVID-19 by May 9, with those who have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days before as the only exceptions, Bloomberg reported.

“The reason is not to have any prejudice against any particular group, the whole consideration is about risk,” Hong Kong Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said, according to the outlet. “The nature of their work is looking after family members, and many of them are very elderly. Also, because of them staying in Hong Kong, during the rest day, they have to meet friends, take a break but then that may cause a risk of cross-family infection, so the whole consideration is a matter of risk.”

According to Ronald Lam, controller of the government’s Centre for Health Protection, the source of the infection is still unknown, though tests revealed that the variant N501Y, which was first found in South Africa, and a mutation, E484K, were both present in the woman.

“Given it is the first locally infected case in the community involving mutant strains and it also transmitted to one of the family members, we think the situation is very grim,” Lam said. “We have to conduct a series of measures for prevention and control.”

The city is currently working towards incentivizing vaccinations.