Employees spray disinfectant at a Windsor Spa facility during its reopening in Hong Kong on Feb 18, 2021. (PHOTO/BLOOMBERG)

HONG KONG - A coronavirus outbreak at a Hong Kong gym has spread to international schools and other fitness centers, as the financial hub reported  22 new infections on Thursday, pushing the tally to 11,150.

The flareup is linked to a 27-year-old trainer from Ursus Fitness, a gym in Hong Kong Island’s Sai Ying Pun neighborhood popular with expatriates. There are at least 17 confirmed cases and 30 preliminary cases connected to the gym, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing. More than 240 clients of Ursus Fitness will be subject to mandatory testing, Chuang said.

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The government may consider tightening curbs again, Under Secretary for Food and Health Chui Tak-yi said at the same briefing.

At least three schools have been closed, just weeks after the government allowed in-person teaching to resume for the first time since late November

At least three schools have been closed, just weeks after the government allowed in-person teaching to resume for the first time since late November.

Kennedy School, which belongs to the English Schools Foundation group of international schools, said in an email to parents Thursday that it would close its campus due to a positive coronavirus case connected to Ursus Fitness. Kellett School and the French International School also said they closed campuses due to positive cases, but didn’t state whether they were linked to the gym.

Positive cases also appeared in the banking community. A BNP Paribas SA spokeswoman said one of the bank’s Hong Kong employees tested positive and that staffers who sat near the person will work from home for 14 days. Credit Suisse Group AG asked some Hong Kong staff to work from home after one employee tested positive, according to a person familiar with the matter. The bank declined to comment. Several Citigroup Inc employees are also working from home as a precaution, a person familiar said. The bank declined to comment.

H-Kore fitness center closed its studios after one of its trainers tested positive, according to a post on its Facebook page. The company said it contacted clients who had attended class with the trainer and advised them to get tested. An employee at Soho Active gym in the Soho House private members’ club in Sheung Wan also tested positive. Co-workers who’d been in direct contact were told to quarantine at home for 14 days.

The increase in infections is another blow to a city that has endured multiple waves of the virus. Venues ranging from gyms to beauty parlors were only allowed to reopen on Feb 18, after being closed for over two months. Others, including bars and beaches, remain closed.

Among Thursday's 22 new infections, 19 were locally transmitted, three of which untraceable, a health official said at a briefing.

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With Bloomberg inputs