2 cases of new COVID variant found in Hong Kong

Two cases of the new COVID-19 strain, which has caused concern in parts of southern Africa, have been observed in Hong Kong travellers. 

The variant — currently known as B.1.1.529 — was discovered in a traveller from South Africa, while the other case was found in a person quarantined in the hotel room next door, the Hong Kong government said late Thursday. According to the government, that person may have been infected due to the air flowing between the rooms. 

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Tulio de Oliveira, a bioinformatics professor who runs gene-sequencing institutions at two South African universities, said at a briefing on Thursday that B.1.1.529 has an unusually large number of mutations and is “clearly very different” from previous incarnations. 

The mutation is “of serious concern”, according to South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla. According to Anne von Gottberg, clinical microbiologist and head of respiratory diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, virologists have found nearly 100 cases linked to the variant in the country so far. Officials from the World Health Organization met to discuss the virus, which has also been found in Botswana.

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IThe new variant has been detected in vaccinated people in Botswana, which borders South Africa, according to Kereng Masupu, coordinator of the Presidential COVID-19 Task Force. Due to concerns about B.1.1.529, the United Kingdom announced late Thursday that flights from South Africa and five neighbouring countries will be temporarily halted. 

According to the statement released on Thursday, 12 people who were staying in rooms near the two Hong Kong cases are undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantines at a government facility.

Hong Kong, among many, is where a community outbreak of delta and now the dominant strain worldwide, has yet to be documented. Because of the mutation, some countries that were able to keep COVID out of their borders through quarantines and border controls in 2020 have had to abandon that strategy and instead treat the virus as an endemic. 

The new variant’s occurrences may prompt Hong Kong to tighten its already one of the toughest quarantine policies in the world, with travellers from some countries being held in hotels for up to 21 days.

Because masks with exhalation valves or vents do not effectively filter exhaled air, the city banned their use in hotel quarantine this week. According to an investigation, someone may have spread the virus to others while wearing one of these masks in a hotel room with the door open. According to government statements, it’s unclear whether this person is the new variant’s carrier. 

According to a government statement, Hong Kong also needed air purifiers to be placed in hotel quarantine rooms if the guest planned to exercise in order to “remove aerosol generated during exercise”. In other countries, such as Australia, cases of COVID have been reported in quarantine, fueling criticism that hotels are insufficient places to house travellers and suspected cases.