Coronavirus: 10 who shared Emirates flight to Hong Kong with Covid-19 cases sent to quarantine centre after five days stranded at airport

It was not immediately clear how the group, at the airport for five days now, was able to board the flight from Dubai, as transit services to the mainland are currently barred

As of Wednesday evening, 10 of the 11 stranded passengers had refused an offer to be flown back to their port of origin

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An Emirates flight containing 26 Hong Kong residents found to be infected with the coronavirus, also brought 11 would-be transit passengers. The group was sent to quarantine on Wednesday after spending five days trapped at the airport. Photo: SCMP

Victor Ting,Elizabeth CheungandDanny Lee

Published: 8:18pm, 24 Jun 2020Updated: 7:43pm, 3 Aug 2020

Hong Kong health authorities have sent 10 transit passengers – stranded at the airport for the past five days – to a local quarantine centre amid public health concerns, as the group had travelled on the same flight as 26 others previously found to be infected with Covid-19.

Confirming an earlier Post report, a Department of Health spokesman said the group, which had attempted to travel from Dubai to mainland China despite a prohibition on transits to mainland cities, had been sent to an official quarantine facility at Chai Wan Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village.

The latest development came just seven hours after the Post contacted the department with inquiries about the travellers’ status.

A photo circulating on social media shows two of the passengers who were stranded at Hong Kong International Airport. Their faces have been blurred to preserve their anonymity. Photo: Weibo

The spokesman added the department had only become aware of the situation on Wednesday, but could not say if the travellers would have to undergo a full 14-day isolation.

A government source, meanwhile, said the group would be given Covid-19 tests, adding that poor communication between the health department and Airport Authority led to the delayed response.

The authority earlier confirmed that 11 passengers on Emirates flight 380 had sought to transit to the mainland but did not have boarding passes for their onward flights.

Coronavirus: 10 who shared Emirates flight to Hong Kong with Covid-19 cases sent to quarantine centre after five days stranded at airport

It was not immediately clear how the group, at the airport for five days now, was able to board the flight from Dubai, as transit services to the mainland are currently barred As of Wednesday evening, 10 of the 11 stranded passengers had refused an offer to be flown back to their port of origin

It was not immediately clear how the group, at the airport for five days now, was able to board the flight from Dubai, as transit services to the mainland are currently barred

As of Wednesday evening, 10 of the 11 stranded passengers had refused an offer to be flown back to their port of origin