A pet shop worker in Causeway Bay has tested preliminary positive of Covid-19, and is suspected to be infected via a previously unidentified transmission route.
Hong Kong reported 11 additional confirmed Covid-19 cases and fewer than 10 preliminary positive cases on Sunday.
Among those who tested preliminary positive was a 23-year-old woman who works at Little Boss, a pet shop selling rabbits and chinchillas on Jardine's Bazaar.
She carried the L452R mutant strain, an indicator that she is a Delta case instead of Omicron as in recent cases.
The woman visited HaiDiLao Hotpot in Yau Ma Tei, La Golden Bistro in Western district, and stayed overnight at Kew Green Hotel Wanchai.
A 41-year-old cleaner who worked on cargo planes was confirmed with Covid-19 after she tested positive a day earlier. Genetic sequencing showed she was related to a previous imported case.
Another confirmed case was a 43-year-old woman who finished 21-day quarantine at Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei. She was confirmed with Covid-19 four days after she returned home.
She was suspected to be infected by a Nepali who lived next door on the 12th floor at the quarantine hotel.
Another similar case occurred on the 4th floor of the same hotel, where a resident infected one who lived next door.
Government experts including Professor Yuen Kwok-yung pointed out, upon inspection, that the rooms did not have adequate ventilation, which led to transmission within the hotel. As a result, residents who live near the confirmed cases at the hotel will have to observe an additional 14 days of quarantine.
Based on findings from smoke tests, Yuen said that air inside hotel rooms could diffuse into the hallway, an indication of low air change per hour.
Additionally, air fresheners in the hallway automatically turned off when the “automatic” setting was selected, whereas rooms were not equipped with air fresheners at all.
Yuen speculated that residents may have come into contact with virus-contaminated air when they opened their doors to collect their meals.
File photo of Little Boss in Causeway Bay
Little Boss sells rabbits and chinchillas
