Hotpot cluster fear in Causeway Bay

A university student who tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday had dined at the same hotpot restaurant as a patient from the "birthday party" cluster.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease unit, said the 20-year-old University of Hong Kong student had dined at Nabe Urawa in Causeway Bay from 6.30pm to 8pm on January 4.

It was during this time that an infected colleague of Celia Wong Sze-nga, the infected attendee at SAR-based mainland official Witman Hung Wai-man's birthday party, also dined at the restaurant, Chuang said. So the student could have contracted the virus there.

"They did not sit right next to each other," Chuang said. "There were some tables in between but not very far away. "We're concerned because we don't understand the source of the transmission in this setting,"

Chuang said health officials are now conducting investigations at the restaurant, including checking on its ventilation.

She also appealed to diners who visited the restaurant on the evening of January 4 to get tested as soon as possible and to contact health authorities.

The student lives in Pik Long House at Shek Pai Wan Estate in Aberdeen and was last at HKU in mid-December.

But Chuang also revealed the student works part time at Dustykid Tea Shop: Light as Dust in Wan Chai and Sheung Wan.

He worked in the Sheung Wan outlet on January 4 and the Wan Chai branch two days later.

He also visited places in Causeway Bay on January 7 and in Mong Kok on January 9.

Also surfacing yesterday was the case of a renovation worker, 32, living in a North Point building hit by vertical virus transmission, and he has been found to have visited estates across Hong Kong.

The worker, who lives in Maple Gardens phase III, developed symptoms on Sunday and visited Queen Mary Hospital on Tuesday night.

Chuang said the worker went to several residential estates for renovation work, including Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam, Bedford Garden in Quarry Bay, One Kai Tak and Tsui Lam Estate in Tseung Kwan O.

His workmates had not worn masks, Chuang said, so all of them as well as occupiers of renovated homes would be sent to the Penny's Bay quarantine center.

Chuang also said the man contracted the virus from residents living a few floors below him in the North Point building.

The Maple Gardens building was locked down on Tuesday night after a 48-year-old CITIC Securities employee living in flat 6B tested positive for the Omicron variant. His 83-year-old mother living in the same unit was also infected.

But the renovation worker living in unit 9B was not at home during the lockdown as he had gone to hospital.

Government adviser Yuen Kwok-yung inspected the building yesterday and said the transmission was caused by the "chimney effect," meaning warm air carrying the virus rose in a pipe and infected residents above.

"The resident in unit 9B never poured water into the toilet drain, so the U-trap in the drainage pipe was dry," Yuen said, so warm air with the virus was able to rise.

As a precautionary measure, Yuen added, 14 households in B units should be in a quarantine center.

Chuang also said yesterday that a 19-year-old secondary six student at Tang King Po College in Mid-Levels also tested preliminarily positive yesterday.

He last went to school on January 7 but usually stayed at home or went to Hong Kong Central Library.

The student lives in Maya tower one in Yau Tong and has a family member infected earlier, though that is a woman living elsewhere.

The student's home block was locked down from 7pm yesterday.

And Tang King Po College was suspending classes for three days from today so the school could be disinfected.

Hong Kong yesterday recorded 22 cases, with five found in the community and 17 imported.

Also yesterday, the Bank of China, HSBC and Hang Seng Bank announced all their branches will shorten their operating hours by one hour and close at 4pm on weekdays starting today.