London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Construction workers at Hong Kong airport to be tested; 28 new Covid-19 cases logged

Construction workers at Hong Kong airport to be tested; 28 new Covid-19 cases logged

Officials say 3,000 workers must be screened after discovery of five new cases take cluster size to nine.

Health authorities have ordered thousands of workers helping to build a new airport runway in Hong Kong to undergo testing for the coronavirus after another five cases tied to an existing outbreak were among 28 infections revealed on Saturday.

While the caseload was the lowest in more than three weeks, the fourth wave has proved stubbornly difficult to contain, and authorities are hoping the roll-out of a vaccine will help turn the tide. The government announced the launch of a recruitment and infrastructure drive for the campaign, which is expected to start late next month.

Two of the latest infections were imported, one involving a cargo flight pilot coming from the United States and the other an arrival from Pakistan, who flew from Dubai to Bangkok. Six of the cases were untraceable, while more than 40 people tested preliminary-positive. The city’s overall tally now stands at 10,399, with 179 related deaths after a 46-year-old female patient succumbed in the evening.

Although the latest infections were the fewest since January 6, when 25 cases emerged, the Centre for Health Protection said it could not evaluate a longer-term trend based on a single day.

“Also, as the Chinese Lunar New Year is approaching, the general public may have more family gatherings and also social functions, so we need to take precautions so there will not be further large-scale transmission or outbreaks in the community,” said Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer at the centre’s communicable disease branch.

Five more construction workers at the airport were found to be carrying the virus, taking the size of the cluster to nine, with the first case emerging last week.

They worked at two different sites, and transmission was suspected to have occurred in a converted shipping container used to rest and eat, according to Au.

“It was also possible the workers did not wear masks properly at work,” Au said.

In a bid to contain the outbreak, the government ordered 3,000 workers to undergo mandatory testing and suggested the Airport Authority and contractor suspend operations at the sites for 14 days.

Among the latest cases was a nurse working at the Dr Raymond Lam Hok-suen ophthalmological clinic in Champion Building on Nathan Road, inside a designated testing zone. She submitted a sample on Thursday and last worked on Friday. She was responsible for registering patients and wore a mask while at work, Au said. The clinic will contact patients who visited the clinic between January 26 and 29 to suggest they undergo testing.

Another 11 buildings in the Yau Tsim Mong district were given mandatory testing orders after their sewage samples were found to have traces of the virus.

Hong Kong has so far struck deals to purchase 22.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, with 7.5 million shots each coming from three suppliers: Sinovac Biotech; British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca; and Fosun Pharma, which is handling the BioNTech vaccine, developed by the German company and US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

The government on Monday authorised the BioNTech variant for emergency use, but on Friday, the European Union announced new export controls on all coronavirus vaccines in an effort to ensure timely access for all of the bloc’s citizens and to tackle a lack of transparency over their sale to foreign governments.

Makers must notify the EU when sending their shots outside the bloc, and member states will then have to authorise the exports and can block them if the supply arrangements for the union are not being met.

The government said it was highly concerned about the development and would continue to monitor the situation and ensure the new regulations did not interfere with the BioNTech supply. The government said it was aware the EU had pledged the rules would not affect the export of vaccines under advance purchase agreements.

According to civil service chief Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, the first immunisation programme would run for at least six months. The government was in talks with both public and private hospitals to prepare facilities for the task.

“There will be 18 vaccination centres – open 12 hours a day – run together by medical professionals from the Hospital Authority, Department of Health, tertiary institutions and private doctors, while we have also begun to recruit civil servants as administrative staff, so that the programme can begin once the vaccines arrive,” he told a radio programme.

Offering assurances on the scheme’s launch date, Nip said the Department of Health had been in close contact with the suppliers of the BioNTech vaccine to ensure there would be no further delays to the delivery of the first batch of jabs.

Under the government’s plans, high-risk groups will be given priority for the 1 million BioNTech doses. The first recipients will be staff and residents of care homes for the elderly, followed by hospital workers and other older people.

The government previously said vaccinations could begin after the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February. But the plans changed following a delay to the supply of Beijing-based Sinovac’s CoronaVac, originally scheduled for delivery by the end of January.

Nip said they were still awaiting the third round of clinical data for the CoronaVac jab before making any further arrangements.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revealed last Tuesday that she had sought Beijing’s help in securing Covid-19 shots from state-owned Sinopharm following “hiccups” in the procurement of other vaccines already bought.


Civil service secretary Patrick Nip.


Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, who is advising the government on its vaccination plan, said he believed Sinovac would release the data shortly.

“We must obtain this clinical data to vet and recommend its use,” he said. “But I believe Sinovac and the other mainland vaccine Sinopharm are preparing their reports and [they] will soon be published. The public does not have to worry that they will take very long.”

Hung saiddata revealed a 95 per cent efficacy rate for the BioNTechvaccine and that it should be safe for the public. But he observed the advisory board had also noticed side effects, including 15 per cent of those vaccinated experiencing fever.

“We are closely monitoring different sets of data, especially when a lot of US and Israel citizens have been vaccinated already. We are evaluating the effects on elderly that are hospitalised,” he added.

Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, another member of the government’s vaccination task force, concurred the board could not begin the approval process for the Sinovac jab without the data.

He added that although the company had submitted data to the World Health Organization, local health departments were still awaiting the figures.

Separately, minister Nip hinted the government would continue to carry out operations similar to the three lockdowns imposed in the past week, saying they were effective in controlling the Covid-19 crisis. Future lockdowns would likely be on a smaller scale, he added.

The operations restricted the public’s movements in coronavirus-hit areas to allow for comprehensive testing.

While the 44-hour lockdown in Jordan affected a larger community, the ones in Yau Ma Tei and North Point targeted only a few buildings and were completed overnight.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×