Coronavirus: Hong Kong reports two more Omicron variant cases as medical experts call for end to cargo aircrew self-isolation ‘loophole’
- Omicron cases are causing concern in Hong Kong as it pushes towards a long-awaited reopening of its border with mainland China
- Allowing crew flying from high-risk countries to avoid quarantine while sending some travellers to Penny’s Bay facility ‘contradictory’, Dr Leung Chi-chiu says
Omicron fears have put Hong Kong on high alert as it pushes towards a long-awaited reopening of the border with mainland China, starting with neighbouring Guangdong province, which is also tackling a growing number of infections, reporting two more local Covid-19 cases on Friday.
The more transmissible Omicron variant is rapidly spreading overseas, especially in Britain where more than 11,700 cases have been reported since late November. That has prompted France to take action, banning all non-essential travel to and from its neighbour across the English Channel.
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But Hong Kong has not moved the United Kingdom to its highest-risk tier of countries – under which arrivals face enhanced quarantine measures – despite confirming two imported Omicron cases from there earlier this week.
The city’s latest Omicron cases were two overseas cargo crew members from flight ACP502 which arrived on Wednesday. The pair, who had received two doses of a vaccine and had low viral loads, had been to Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, India and Uganda before testing positive at Hong Kong’s airport.
One of them, a 41-year-old man, was among seven new imported cases confirmed on Friday. The other, a 27-year-old man, was one of 10 cases on Thursday.
