Hong Kong virus cluster prompts partial lockdown

Second residential block at Kwai Chung housing complex will be locked down for five days; lockdown in block where virus was first detected will be extended

Hong Kong expanded a partial lockdown and tightened pandemic restrictions Tuesday after more than 200 cases of Covid-19 were discovered at a public housing estate. Hong Kong has already suspended many overseas flights and requires arrivals be quarantined, similar to mainland China’s “zero-tolerance” approach to the virus that has placed millions under lockdowns and mandates mask wearing, rigorous case tracing and mass testing.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said a second residential block at Kwai Chung housing complex will be locked down for five days. The block where the virus was first discovered is already under lockdown, which will now be extended from five to seven days. The measures aimed to “play safe protecting the residents as well as preventing the spread of the virus,” Lam said.

Schools have been closed and restaurants cannot offer in-house dining after 6 p.m. in a return to previous measures to contain surges in cases. Compulsory testing has been ordered on people who reside in or visited buildings where the virus was detected.

The outbreak has prompted the city of Shenzhen just across the border in mainland China to tighten rules on people from Hong Kong. Starting Wednesday, Hong Kong travelers will need to show a negative Covid-19 test result obtained in the previous 24 hours, undergo 14 days quarantine at a government-designated location and seven further days of isolation at home. 

Lam also criticized a senior Cabinet member, Home Affairs Secretary Casper Tsui, who was among many government officials suspended and ordered into quarantine after attending a birthday party where two guests later tested positive for Covid-19.

London police probing Downing Street parties

London police said Tuesday they were investigating Downing Street lockdown parties in 2020 to determine if U.K. government officials violated coronavirus restrictions, putting further pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Metropolitan Police Service has launched an inquiry into “a number of events” at Downing Street because they met the force’s criteria for investigating the “most serious and flagrant” breaches of COVID-19 rules, Commissioner Cressida Dick said. The gatherings are already being investigated by a senior civil servant Sue Gray whose report, expected this week, will be crucial to determine if Johnson can remain in power.

Current vaccines may protect from severe disease by Omicron: Study

Current COVID-19 vaccines prompt the body to make effective, long-lasting T cells against SARS-CoV-2 that can recognise variants of concern, including Omicron, and protect from severe disease, a study has found. The research, published in the journal Cell, also shows that fully vaccinated people have fewer memory B cells and neutralising antibodies against the Omicron variant. Both T and B cells play an important role in the immune response against an infection. 

23 Australians on ship delivering aid to Tonga have virus

Nearly two dozen sailors on an Australian military ship going to deliver aid to Tonga have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday. Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government was working with Tongan authorities to keep the ship at sea and make sure there is no threat to Tonga’s 1,05,000 residents.

28,99,491
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

34,96,41,119
Total no. of cases worldwide

55,92,266
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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