London Daily

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

Hong Kong health officials on full alert as dance club Covid-19 cluster grows

Hong Kong health officials on full alert as dance club Covid-19 cluster grows

Of 21 new locally transmitted infections, origins of nine cannot be traced.

A surge of Covid-19 infections, with a growing cluster linked to a Wan Chai dance studio, has placed Hong Kong health authorities on full alert.

Twenty-six cases were confirmed in the city on Friday, including 21 locally transmitted infections. The origins of nine local cases could not be traced.

More than 40 initially positive infections, many untraceable, were also reported.

The cluster linked to Starlight Dance Club had nine more confirmed and seven preliminary positive cases. There are now 10 confirmed cases tied to the group.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch under the Centre for Health Protection, said among the nine new patients linked to Starlight, most had visited the premises on November 14 and some the previous day. One confirmed person had not been to Starlight but had business dealings with a club visitor who was infected, meaning secondary transmission may have occurred.

Among the seven initially positive cases was a club bartender, a family member of an infected person and some patrons who were at the premises on November 12.

“It shows there was some transmission in Starlight. We are now tracking people who visited there on November 13 and 14, and perhaps now we need to trace those who were there on November 12, too,” Chuang said, adding that dozens of people were in the club each day.

She said some of the club’s instructors also taught elsewhere, including at Dance Culture in Causeway Bay and Heavenly Dance in Sheung Wan.

Three other confirmed cases were linked to previous infections.

Most of the nine untraceable infections were preliminary positive cases from the day before, including a taxi driver, a construction worker, a man with special needs and a member of his family.

Three housewives were also among those cases, including one who had visited Palladium International Dance Club in Tsim Sha Tsui on November 16 for a birthday gathering of about 100 people at which ballroom dancing was available.

“It was not necessarily the reason for her infection, but it showed she had joined an activity with quite a lot of people,” Chuang said.


A cluster has been linked to Starlight Dance Club in Wan Chai.


She said many of Friday’s preliminary cases were identified through government community testing centres in Quarry Bay and Yau Ma Tei.

The city’s official tally stands at 5,517 confirmed cases, with 108 related deaths.

The other five confirmed cases were imported, including a pilot from Britain, and arrivals from Pakistan, Romania and India.

Experts had warned about the risk of Covid-19 transmission during dancing.

“Dancing partners are very close together and breathe heavily as this can be a form of exercise. This can generate lots of virus-laden aerosols that spread to many people in an indoor setting,” said Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, an infectious disease expert from the University of Hong Kong who advises the government on the pandemic.

Chuang said it remained unclear whether dance studios or clubs fell under a specific type of premises regulated under Covid-19 rules.

According to the Home Affairs Department, Starlight Dance Club, Heavenly Dance and Dance Culture are not licensed as amusement game centres, clubhouses, karaoke establishments or mahjong-tin kau premises, all of which fall under specific social-distancing regulations.

Palladium International Dance Club has a certificate of compliance for a clubhouse.

Meanwhile, three taxi drivers and a rehab bus driver who were confirmed by the Department of Health as having Covid-19 last Thursday turned out to be “false positive” cases, according to Chinese University’s Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert and another government adviser.

“After they were admitted to hospital, all their other test samples returned negative. Antibodies cannot be found in their blood tests,” he told a radio show on Friday.

Hui suspected their samples in the private laboratory might have been contaminated. As the health department used the same set of samples, they were therefore confirmed as “positive”.

Chuang said she would not comment on those cases, but added that not all infected patients would develop antibodies.

The Post has contacted KingMed Diagnostics, which was responsible for testing taxi drivers, for comment.

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
×