Hong Kong records 17 new Covid cases, all imported

Health authorities on Friday reported 17 new imported Covid-19 cases – 15 of the patients are crew members of a cargo vessel that arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the vessel had come from Indonesia, and all those confirmed with the coronavirus carried the L452R mutant strain.

The CHP said eight more crew members will be required to undergo quarantine on board their vessel and undergo Covid tests during the quarantine period. None of the crew had been onshore since arriving in local waters, the CHP added.

It also said the operator of the vessel is suspected of providing false information to the Department of Health (DH) during their application to be allowed to enter the port to allow crew to disembark.

“The DH is carrying out investigation and will seek legal advice from the Department of Justice for the suspected contravention of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation,” it said.

The other two imported cases involve people returning from Azerbaijan and Lithuania.

Meanwhile, authorities will issue compulsory testing orders to Block A of Sunlight Court in Pok Fu Lam as well as the 28th floor of C-Bons International Centre in Kwun Tong, after a woman tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, a few days after she left Hong Kong.