(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Centre for Health Protection today announced that a new genetic variant of COVID-19 was detected in two students who returned to Hong Kong from the United Kingdom and stressed that further analysis is ongoing.

At a press briefing this afternoon, the centre's Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan noted that the Department of Health’s (DH) Public Health Laboratory Services Branch found the new coronavirus variant after conducting gene sequencing on 11 samples taken from people returning from the UK.

One of the returnees arrived alone in Hong Kong in mid-December.

The other one came back in early December with three schoolmates who completed the 14-day compulsory quarantine arrangement at a hotel.

Dr Chaung explained that as a precaution, they were arranged to stay quarantined for seven more days.

“It’s not that we have found any cases with patients who have longer incubation periods or are more infectious.

“It’s just for precaution's sake because these two are the first two cases we found in Hong Kong that have the new gene variant - according to reports from the United Kingdom, it may be more infectious.

“A small proportion of COVID-19 patients may have a very long incubation period of more than 14 days. That’s why we are implementing the 21-day rule for those coming back from the UK, just to make sure that the new virus strain won’t spread to the community.

“For these travel collaterals, they came back on December 7. They should be tested on the 19th day and stay at home until they test negative. But we just want to make sure that they get tested and observe their symptoms - if they have any - to catch the virus early.”

Dr Chuang added that the centre is investigating 53 additional COVID-19 cases, of which 47 are locally transmitted.

Twenty of the local cases have unknown sources of infection.

Two more cases were detected at Ping Shing House at Ping Tin Estate in Lam Tin, bringing the number of cases in the building to eight involving five units.

There are also a few more preliminary positive cases in the building where residents must undergo compulsory virus testing.

Meanwhile, Block 4 of Hong Shing Garden at Tseung Kwan O detected an additional COVID-19 case. So far, five residents in three units have caught the disease. The DH has arranged to distribute specimen collection bottles for testing.

The centre also announced that from tomorrow onwards, after the collection of combined nasal and throat swabs for travellers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) by dedicated staff at the DH’s Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at HKIA, the COVID-19 nucleic acid test by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on the samples will be conducted at a dedicated laboratory set up by a testing agency at HKIA.

It noted that the RT-PCR test has a shorter turnaround time and the new arrangement is expected to reduce travellers' waiting time for test results.

In view of the latest epidemic developments in the Mainland, the previous arrangement to provide specimen collection containers to inbound travellers arriving via land boundary control points who have been to Shanghai in the past 14 days will be cancelled from tomorrow.

These travellers, if they are not exempted, are subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days at a designated place upon arrival in Hong Kong. 

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.