“We strongly suggest airport staff, aircrew members and quarantine hotel staff get their third jabs of the vaccine to protect themselves and their families,” Chan said.

02:46

Asia-Pacific countries adopt varying approaches to dealing with Omicron coronavirus variant

Asia-Pacific countries adopt varying approaches to dealing with Omicron coronavirus variant

Six of the latest cases carried mutated strains of the virus, including five with elements consistent with Omicron, though officials have yet to confirm if those patients were infected with the more highly transmissible version of Covid-19.

Pakistan, the United States and South Africa accounted for two of the arrivals each, while the three remaining cases came from Nigeria, France and Germany.

China-bound passengers in limbo after flight turns back to US

The latest infections brought the city’s tally to 12,589, with 213 related deaths. Fewer than 15 preliminary-positive cases were recorded.

The Cathay crew member had left for the United States last Wednesday, and tested positive upon his return to the city on Saturday. Authorities said compulsory testing would be required for residents of Tower 3 in Tung Chung’s Visionary development and other places he visited during his incubation period as a precautionary measure.

Another Cathay cabin crew member who arrived from Sydney tested positive on Saturday with a mutated strain considered likely to be Omicron. So far, only one Cathay crew member has been confirmed with the new variant.

Hong Kong has confirmed 44 imported Omicron cases since the variant first arrived in the city in late November, though none have been discovered in the community.

Omicron is now the world’s fastest-growing Covid-19 strain, though experts say the highly infectious variant is also generating much milder symptoms among patients.

On Sunday, the city moved three more countries – Jamaica, Albania and North Macedonia – to its list of high-risk destinations, effective Wednesday, meaning arrivals must serve 21 days of quarantine in a designated hotel, hold a recognised vaccination record and present a negative test result within 48 hours of departure. The additions bring the number of high-risk places to 116.

Global Covid-19 surge darkens year-end holiday mood

Respiratory medicine expert Dr Leung Chi-chiu said border controls were the city’s main measure to maintain its zero-infection policy.

“That’s the only way we can achieve zero Covid. Just look at the past weekend, the festive atmosphere has been very strong so people are clearly suffering from Covid fatigue,” Leung said.

“Any outbreak across multiple districts, or even a fifth wave of infections, would be hard to stem if it happened, requiring us to implement lockdowns and other costly measures.”

Leung recommended frontline airport workers be tested every day, so even if an infection was detected among them and they happened to be moving about the city, it could be quickly detected.

He further urged the government to reconsider allowing people from high-risk areas to transit at Hong Kong airport, saying it risked exposing staff to the coronavirus, particularly as Omicron was now spreading quickly not just in Europe and the United States, but in Asia as well.

On Saturday, the city confirmed 25 imported infections, the highest daily number since April 18. Authorities subsequently banned three airline routes, the most in a single day.

Cathay Pacific flights from London, Korean Air services from Seoul and Emirates Airlines flights from Dubai were halted for two weeks after passengers the carriers brought to the city were found infected on arrival.

Tommy Tam Kwong-shun, chairman of the Society of IATA Passenger Agents, said he was not too pessimistic about the prospect of more flight cancellations because Omicron had so far appeared to be more contagious rather than deadly.

He said cancellations by Cathay partly arose from insufficient crew turnaround from complying with existing quarantine measures.

“The UK and the US have recently started deploying antiviral pills and Omicron appears to be contagious rather than deadly so far, the cancelled Cathay flights are likely to be resumed in the second quarter next year,” he said.

According to tracking website Flightware.com, more than 7,000 flights were cancelled worldwide over the Christmas weekend, with thousands more delayed. Many of the cancellations were a result of rising Covid-19 infections among aircrew and a resultant lack of staff to operate flights. About a third of the cancellations were flights originating from or headed to US airports.

Hong Kong’s Cathay axes passenger, cargo flights in latest contingency bid

Chinese airlines were also severely affected. China Eastern scrapped more than 1,000 flights on Friday and Saturday, over 20 per cent of those scheduled, while Air China grounded 20 per cent of its departures, according to Agence France-Presse.

Meanwhile, passengers affected by the ban on flights from London after Cathay suspended service on Saturday have been scrambling to meet testing requirements and reroute their journeys through Helsinki, Finland instead.

Another affected traveller on an Emirates flight earlier told the Post he had been trying to change his flight without affecting his booking for a quarantine hotel in Hong Kong, which are increasingly difficult to book.

Additional reporting by Denise Tsang