A pedestrian walks past the closed Ursus Fitness center in Hong Kong on March 12, 2021. (PHOTO/BLOOMBERG)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 60 new COVID-19 cases on Friday - a daily high since Jan 27 - as a fast-growing infection cluster linked to a fitness club saw 47 new confirmed patients. 

Forty of the 47 new patients were patrons at Ursus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing. 

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The cluster had so far involved 64 people, including 50 customers, seven employees and seven close contacts, with the first patient being a customer who developed symptoms on Saturday, according to Chuang. The outbreak originated from a customer who developed symptoms on Saturday, Chuang added. 

The gym cluster had so far involved 64 people, including 50 customers, seven employees and seven close contacts

The cluster was expected to further expand as around 10 out of more than 20 preliminary positive cases were related to the gym.

The government announced late Thursday that mask-wearing would be mandatory inside fitness centers, with the exception of showering, eating or drinking. Previously, people working out at a gym were not required to wear a mark unless they were in group tutoring.

Other fitness centers were closed due to cases linked to Ursus. H-Kore said it was closing both of its studios until March 21 after one of its trainers attended a class at Ursus on March 5, while another’s husband - who works at Ursus - tested positive and was taken to the hospital for treatment. 

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The wider sports community was also impacted. Hong Kong Rugby Union confirmed that some players at both senior and junior levels have been infected and that club activities would be suspended this weekend. A group of girls from an under-12 rugby team was asked to quarantine in government facilities after one of their coaches who attended Ursus gym tested positive on Wednesday. Hong Kong Football Club canceled weekend training out of precaution, while some activities were also scrapped at the Cricket Club and Yacht Club.

Chuang said all gym workers in Hong Kong are required to get tested before Monday.

Fifty-four of the new cases on Friday were locally transmitted while the remaining were imported, pushing the city’s overall tally to 11,210.

Five local cases were untraceable. They were a student at Pak Tin Catholic Primary School in Sham Shui Po, a security guard at Chak On Estate Fu Chak House in Shek Kip Mei, a housewife living at Wonderland Villas in Kwai Chung, a worker at Enterprise Square Five Tower 2 in Kowloon Bay, and an exhibition assistant at Park Central in Tseung Kwan O.

71 adverse cases reported

As of March 7, about 93,000 people have received their first jabs since the launch of the vaccination program, according to the Department of Health. A total of 71 reports of adverse events have been received, representing 0.076 percent of all the doses administered.

The Department of Health said it had received 71 reports of adverse events following immunization related to the COVID-19 vaccines, representing 0.076 percent of all the doses administered

It said most of the reports involved cases with the presentation of mild symptoms, such as dizziness and palpitation.

Health authorities on Thursday night confirmed that a 70-year-old woman who had a history of hypertension and osteoarthritis of the knee died nine days after receiving a vaccine against COVID-19. The patient suffered from shortness of breath on Thursday morning and collapsed at home at around noon and was then admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital. She did not respond to resuscitation and died in the afternoon.

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The woman had received a shot of the Sinovac vaccine at Kowloon Bay Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre on March 2, the government said in a statement citing information provided by the deceased’s family.

She is the fourth person to die in the city following vaccination against COVID-19.

The city’s expert panel tasked to examine side effects of COVID-19 vaccines said the first two deaths had no direct link to the vaccination and is waiting for the third’s autopsy findings.

As of Thursday, around 131,000 people have received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine while another 14,700 people with the BioNTech vaccine.

With Bloomberg inputs