HONG KONG -Hong Kong reported on Tuesday four new imported COVID-19 cases, including three that involved mutant strains, as the government announced that it will allow people to remove masks at gyms if all staff and users are fully vaccinated.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the Centre for Health Protection said the new patients included a man and a woman from the United Kingdom, a woman from Indonesia, and a man from Russia.
The Centre for Health Protection said the new patients included a man and a woman from the United Kingdom, a woman from Indonesia, and a man from Russia
“Three cases involved mutant strains while the mutation test result of the remaining case is pending,” reads the statement.
The CHP said three of them tested positive during the "test-and-hold" arrangement upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport while the remaining patient tested positive on the ninth day of quarantine. The city’s tally stood at 12,272.
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In a separate statement, the government said it will also allow gym exercise classes to include a maximum of 12 people as long as the instructors are fully vaccinated and the participants wear masks.
Hong Kong will maintain most of its other social-distancing measures for another two weeks, including limiting dining-in hours, capping public gatherings at four people, and restricting nightclub and karaoke outlet access to vaccinated people.
While occasional infections have been detected, the special administrative region is one of the only places in the world not to yet have had an outbreak of the Delta variant.
The territory’s COVID-19-free environment has allowed social and business activity to resume locally as it maintains strict border curbs and containment measures, with mandatory quarantine of up to 21 days for incoming travelers and the close contacts of infected people - regardless of vaccination status.
Meanwhile, the CHP said it was also investigating the case of an 18-year-old man from Ho Man Tin who tested positive for the virus in the United Kingdom.
The patient lives at Block 7, King's Park Villa, Ho Man Tin and had negative test results before he traveled to the UK on Oct 1.
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However, his specimen collected in the UK on Oct 3 tested positive and he developed symptoms on Oct 11.
The patient works at 31/F, Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, and last went to work on Sept 24. He had received two doses of the Comirnaty vaccine on March 20 and April 10 in Hong Kong.
The CHP said it was following up the case with UK health authorities and the plAces where he visited, worked and lived in Hong Kong will be included in a compulsory testing order.
With inputs from Bloomberg
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