Secondary School Girl Contracts UK Covid-19 Variant
"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("
"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "https://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1594418_1_20210605113418.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1594418-20210605.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1594418-20210605.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });
2021-06-05 HKT 11:43
Share this story
Dr Gilman Siu speaks to Wendy Wong
Latest genetic analysis showed on Saturday that a secondary school girl who tested preliminary positive for the coronavirus has contracted a variant of Covid-19 that was first detected in the UK.
It is the first time the UK variant, with a scientific name of B.1.1.7 and labelled by the World Health Organisation as Alpha, has been detected in Hong Kong.
The source of the girl’s infection remains unknown.
Dr Gilman Siu from the Polytechnic University’s Department of Health Technology and Informatics carried out the genome sequencing of the virus.
He said the case could be highly infectious.
“The variant with this mutation has been reported to be more transmissible. The patient is harbouring a very high viral load. That means it’s even more transmissible and very infectious,” he said.
It is the first untraceable coronavirus infection reported in Hong Kong after 42 days of zero cases.
Meanwhile, the government said no coronavirus cases were found at a Tin Shui Wai housing block where the girl lives.
The block, Shing Yu House at Tin Shing Court, was locked down on Friday night, during which 850 residents were tested.
Residents at the building will be tested again four more times in the next two weeks as a precaution.
StartmeupHK Festival And Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 Merge For 10th Anniversary Milestone
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced on 10 March 2025 that both of its flagship events, Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 an... Read more
Ant AI-Powered Health Insurance Processes 7.25M Claims In 2024, 55%YoY Increase
In 2024, Ant Insurance, the online insurance brokerage platform of Ant Group, processed 7.25 million health claims, mar... Read more
Ping An Talent Uses AI For Job Matching, But Can Technology Make Recruitment Fairer?
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. has launched its 2025 Spring Campus Recruitment, offering over 2,000 p... Read more
HKEX Partners With CMU OmniClear To Boost Post-Trade Securities Infrastructure
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced on 4 March 2025 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding ... Read more
PAObank Secures Insurance Agency Licence, Partners With Ping An And FWD Hong Kong
PAO Bank Limited (PAObank) has received its Insurance Agency Licence from the Insurance Authority and signed strategic ... Read more
IFAST Launches Self-Service Accounts For Hong Kong Family Offices
Fintech solutions provider iFAST HK launches self-service accounts in Hong Kong, catering to the growing demand for ind... Read more