People relax on a Kowloon promenade that runs along Victoria Harbour, with the skyline of Hong Kong Island in the background on March 18, 2021. (ANTHONY  WALLACE / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Sunday as a health official said that the outbreak at a gym in Sai Ying Pun had been contained.  

In a media briefing, Chuang Shuk-kwan, the head  of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said the outbreak at Ursus Fitness had been put under control since the new cases linked to it all involved persons who were already quarantined. 

The lone untraceable case involved a 26-year-old Pakistani arrested during an illegal gathering in Kwun Tong

“I think the Ursus outbreak has been brought under control because the recent cases are all from the quarantine center. We have not observed other confirmed cases possibly related to this cluster,” Chuang said.

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She said there were four local cases on Sunday and one of them was linked to the Ursus cluster, which now had a total of 142 patients, including seven staff members and 97 customers.

Chuang also said there were 17 who tested preliminarily positive and five of them were linked to the gym cluster.

“Overall, although the number (of new virus cases) has dropped a bit, we still recorded some unknown cases here and there so there’s still some silent transmission in the community,” Chuang said. 

There were four imported cases from Bangladesh, the Philippines, the United States, and Canada on Sunday. The city’s tally of confirmed cases stood at 11,380.

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Chuang said the lone untraceable case involved a 26-year-old Pakistani arrested during an illegal gathering in Kwun Tong.

She said the Pakistani was nabbed together with 10 others on March 19. His companions were considered close contacts and were brought to the quarantine center.

Chuang said that they would also review who among the police officers, firemen, and ambulance workers who came into contact with the patient should be considered as close contacts. 

Among the 17 who tested preliminarily positive, one case, that of a 71-year-old male taxi driver, was also untraceable, Chuang said.

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She said the substitute driver drove a red taxi (with plate number LE7673) during day time.  His passengers who had the LeaveHomeSafe app would get a notification, Chuang added.

According to the Hospital Authority, there were 263 patients being treated in 19 public hospitals and the AsiaWorld-Expo treatment center and the North Lantau Hospital Infection Control Tower. They included 19 patients in critical condition and 10 in serious condition.