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Omicron subvariant slips into kindergarten as HK sees 499 Covid cases
Hong Kong reported 499 new Covid-19 cases and two more deaths on Friday as the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 was detected in a kindergarten while other bar outbreak clusters continued to grow.
Among the new cases, 199 were confirmed via PCR tests and 300 were self-declared positive rapid antigen test results. Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection reported the official tally of the fifth wave now stands at 1,201,561.
She also added 49 imported cases, including 24 detected at the airport, 14 identified at the airport and 10 who completed the seven-day quarantine.
A total of 12 cases were reported by 11 schools, involving nine students and three staffers from six kindergartens, three primary schools and two secondary schools.
Two students at Hong Kong Christian Services Times Nursery School caught Covid and one of them was founding carrying the BA.2.12.1 Omicron subvariant. The two slept alongside each other during nap time between 12.45pm and 245 pm without their masks on, according to Chuang, who added eight other students who slept in the same room will have to undergo quarantine.
DSC International School also reported another BA.2.12.1 case involving a student, whose family of four were all infected as well.
Although two Covid-hit bars ZENTRAL and Iron Fairies & J. Boroski didn't report new infection, the third bar cluster LINQ added three new cases who visited there on May 28, amounting to 23 cases in total.
About 160 and 200 people went to LINQ last Friday and Saturday night respectively, and all 32 environmental samples collected by the center tested negative.
A fourth bar in the area -- Shuffle was also hit by Covid as it reported 14 new infections, including 11 women and three men aged between 21 and 32. One of them had visited ZENTRAL and Chuang said health authorities will inspect the environment there.
Chuang noted that six people were found to deliberately reporting false Covid infections and their cases were passed to police already. She also warned some 100 people who had been ZENTRAL and Iron Fairies & J. Boroski to undergo compulsory testing or there will be legal consequences.
Hospital Authority's chief manager Gladys Kwan Wai-man reported two more death, on the other hand, involving two men aged 79 and 87.
So far, 12 patients are in critical condition, seven in serious condition and six are staying in hospitals' intensive care units.
In the past 24 hours, 59 patients recovered from Covid and 47 of them were discharged. From 2020 until now, a total of 62,791 patients have recovered and 62,437 of them have been discharged.
She also added 49 imported cases, including 24 detected at the airport, 14 identified at the airport and 10 who completed the seven-day quarantine.
A total of 12 cases were reported by 11 schools, involving nine students and three staffers from six kindergartens, three primary schools and two secondary schools.
Two students at Hong Kong Christian Services Times Nursery School caught Covid and one of them was founding carrying the BA.2.12.1 Omicron subvariant. The two slept alongside each other during nap time between 12.45pm and 245 pm without their masks on, according to Chuang, who added eight other students who slept in the same room will have to undergo quarantine.
DSC International School also reported another BA.2.12.1 case involving a student, whose family of four were all infected as well.
Although two Covid-hit bars ZENTRAL and Iron Fairies & J. Boroski didn't report new infection, the third bar cluster LINQ added three new cases who visited there on May 28, amounting to 23 cases in total.
About 160 and 200 people went to LINQ last Friday and Saturday night respectively, and all 32 environmental samples collected by the center tested negative.
A fourth bar in the area -- Shuffle was also hit by Covid as it reported 14 new infections, including 11 women and three men aged between 21 and 32. One of them had visited ZENTRAL and Chuang said health authorities will inspect the environment there.
Chuang noted that six people were found to deliberately reporting false Covid infections and their cases were passed to police already. She also warned some 100 people who had been ZENTRAL and Iron Fairies & J. Boroski to undergo compulsory testing or there will be legal consequences.
Hospital Authority's chief manager Gladys Kwan Wai-man reported two more death, on the other hand, involving two men aged 79 and 87.
So far, 12 patients are in critical condition, seven in serious condition and six are staying in hospitals' intensive care units.
In the past 24 hours, 59 patients recovered from Covid and 47 of them were discharged. From 2020 until now, a total of 62,791 patients have recovered and 62,437 of them have been discharged.
