43 COVID-19 cases reported

November 21, 2020

Centre for Health Protection Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan:

The mandatory testing notice will be issued by the Secretary for Food & Health. (When) it takes effect, it will mandate all those who have been in (the relevant dance) places to undergo testing. So we don't have the list of participants. But subsequently, if any of them are found not complying with the notice, they will be penalised.

We don't have indicators to identify who are the (coronavirus) superspreaders. It would be very good if researchers can identify those risk factors. And also, only after subsequent observation, we understand that some of them spread (the virus) to their family members, friends or other places.

Many of the (patients in the dance cluster) visited Starlight Dance Club on November 13 or 14, but not all of them. So there may be some superspreading events that I'm not sure (whether they were) caused by one (event) or environmental contamination. So this needs to be further studied.

The overall situation, as you can see from our daily reported cases, (is that) the number is escalating. So the increasing trend is very alarming.

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

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating 43 additional COVID-19 cases, of which 36 are locally transmitted and 13 are from unknown sources of infection.

At a press briefing this afternoon, the centre’s Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said that 21 of the local cases are related to a dancing cluster and the majority of people infected visited the Starlight Dance Club in Wan Chai on November 13 or 14.

The CHP urged those who visited 14 dancing venues linked to the cluster on or after November 1 to undergo COVID-19 testing.

The venue list is compiled based on investigations into the cluster's confirmed cases and some of the people who initially tested positive.

“The mandatory testing notice will be issued by the Secretary for Food & Health. When it takes effect, it will mandate all those who have been in the relevant dance places to undergo testing.

“If any of them are found not complying with the notice, they will be penalised.”

Dr Chuang also called on the public to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities as the epidemic situation is deteriorating, noting that the centre is following up on more than 60 preliminary positive cases.

“The overall situation, as you can see from our daily reported cases, is that the number is escalating. So the increasing trend is very alarming.”

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