Omicron: second infection tied to family member of diner in restaurant cluster sparks fears of growing outbreak, as health chief warns Hong Kong at ‘tipping point’

Fears over an Omicron outbreak in Hong Kong grew on Sunday after the wife of a man linked to a restaurant cluster was suspected to be infected with Covid-19, as the city’s health minister warned the situation was at a “tipping point”. Authorities have sent hundreds of close contacts of the infected diners into quarantine, but health experts are holding off from recommending tighter social-distancing rules as it remained unclear exactly how the virus spread around the Moon Palace restaurant at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong last week. Hong Kong also confirmed 26 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, all but one of which involved arrivals while the remaining infection was classified as import-related. Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee again urged residents to get vaccinated and take their booster shots as soon as possible. “We are watching the situation closely, but we are at a tipping point,” Chan told a radio programme. In the latest development of the restaurant cluster, a 38-year-old woman who ate there with her husband on December 27 was listed as a preliminary-positive case. She last visited her workplace at Sandoz Centre on Texaco Road in Tsuen Wan on December 30, where authorities will carry out compulsory testing. A medical source said the woman was sent to the government’s Penny’s Bay quarantine facility last Thursday and initially tested negative for the coronavirus. She later returned a positive result at the emergency unit of Tuen Mun Hospital on Saturday. So far, three people who dined that day at Moon Palace have been confirmed as carrying Omicron: the woman’s 34-year-old husband; a Cathay Pacific aircrew member, 44, who is thought to be the source of the outbreak; and his 76-year-old father. Another patron, a 50-year-old housewife, was confirmed as carrying Covid-19 on Sunday. Hongkongers getting booster shots outnumber those getting first, second doses Health authorities have arranged for about 340 close contacts to enter quarantine, including 22 restaurant employees and around 170 customers. Chan said authorities had been racing to identify any remaining diners who had yet to be sent into isolation. “Some of them called the government’s hotline themselves and the restaurant has been really helpful. We are also trying to trace diners by getting their credit card details, so hopefully that will help,” she said. Government pandemic adviser Professor David Hui Shu-cheong warned of a risk of a community outbreak but said the key to preventing any wider spread was to track down all diners at Moon Palace who were there at the same time as the aircrew member. “We need to find them all and test them, so we can understand more of the situation,” Hui said. “Omicron is very fast-spreading, and the latest infected diner was seated far from the aircrew member, so you can imagine how quickly it can spread.” Hui said very little was known about how the virus had spread within the restaurant as all 40 environment samples had returned negative results. “Whether it was low ventilation, or that the aircrew member coughed as diners walked past, we still don’t know, so the only way to find out is to test everyone who was there,” he said. Social-distancing rules would only need to be ramped up if infections were detected outside the restaurant cluster, Hui said, a view echoed by University of Hong Kong microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung. Yuen told a television programme he believed the cluster spread could be related to ceiling-mounted air purifiers. “There was a lack of air circulation as only the upper level of air in the restaurant could be purified. The purifiers basically were not functioning, ” the government pandemic adviser said. Referring to fresh circulation patterns, Yuen added the air-purification system only managed to perform an “air change” twice per hour, falling short of the required six times an hour. He called on authorities to provide guidance to restaurants on how to improve ventilation by installing air purifiers properly or setting up extra fans. “There may be a possibility of a fifth wave,” Yuen warned. “But if we can take all feasible measures, and do what we’ve been doing in the past months, we can still defend against the pandemic.” He urged the government to strengthen contact-tracing capabilities with the help of technology and suggested aircrew members be tested for Covid-19 daily instead of every two days. Covid-19 cluster in Hong Kong could delay travel scheme; Cathay fires 2 employees Hong Kong’s tally of Omicron infections stands at 95, nearly all imported, while 12,692 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed, with 213 related deaths. Authorities also temporarily banned KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from flying in from Amsterdam after six passengers tested positive upon arrival, and prohibited Cathay Pacific from operating its Manchester to Hong Kong route after three passengers tested positive. The suspensions will last until January 15. Chan on Sunday also urged residents to take the initiative and protect themselves by getting vaccinated, particularly as the government was likely to expand its vaccine mandate to cover restaurants, gyms and cinemas before Lunar New Year next month. She hinted that could happen when the government announced its latest social-distancing measures on January 20. The city already requires patrons at nightclubs, bars and karaoke parlours to be inoculated for entry. Starting mid-February, government workers will have to show proof of vaccination to enter buildings under the administration. The daily vaccination rate has risen in recent weeks. According to government figures, an average of 15,000 shots were administered each day last month, but after authorities announced it would expand the vaccine bubble before February, the number jumped to roughly 20,000. More than 7,000 people received the first dose on New Year’s Day, which was about double the average last week. Chan said she did not rule out the need for a fourth jab for Sinovac recipients to enhance protection levels. Last November, Hui said those who had received a third shot of Sinovac might need another dose six to eight months later as immunity would drop. Israel has also approved fourth shots of the German-made BioNTech vaccine for health workers and those with weakened immune systems, as it hoped to study whether another round of boosters could ward off the Omicron variant.