A security guard checks the body temperature of a resident at block 5 of Lei Muk Shue Estate in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, May 13, 2020, as health authorities confirmed a woman living in the block had contracted COVID-19 on the same day. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong recorded on Thursday another locally transmitted coronavirus case involving the husband of a 66-year-old woman confirmed a day before, bringing the city’s infection tally to 1,051.

The man, who showed no symptoms after her wife had tested positive, was tested positive at a government quarantine center 

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre of Health Protection’s communicable disease branch

The 63-year-old man is the third coronavirus patient from the same family. His wife and their five-year-old granddaughter were confirmed to be infected on Wednesday, ending a 23-day streak of no local cases in the city.

The man, who showed no symptoms after her wife had tested positive, was found with the virus during a medical observation at a government quarantine center, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre of Health Protection’s communicable disease branch.

The couple lives at a public housing estate in Tsuen Wan and had few outdoor activities. The man used to operate a makeshift stall for watch repairs but had few customers recently, Chuang said. About 20 close contacts of the three patients have been placed under quarantine.

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The city’s health authorities are expanding their hunt for the source of the infection cluster. Their measures include testing the residents sharing the residential building as well as those from the shops visited by the patients.

David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Hong Kong people returning from overseas are likely to be the source of the new infections. 

Even after the two-week home quarantine, some of them may still carry the virus and spread them in the community, he explained. There have been patients whose infections were confirmed on completion of their quarantine.

This makes it hard for the city to reach 28 days without any local infections, Hui said on a public radio program Thursday. “If the new cases are isolated and don’t lead to a major local outbreak, we can continue with usual activities.”

READ MORE: HK sees 3 new cases, ending streak of no local infections

During the same program, Leung Chi-chiu, who chairs the advisory committee on communicable diseases of the Medical Association, suggested the authorities monitor the situation for another week to decide whether to postpone reopening of schools, now scheduled for May 27. 

Contact the writer at jefferygu@chinadailyhk.com