Omicron, Airborne Transmission Possible... Infection Among Quarantined Individuals Without Contact in Hong Kong

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Two Omicron variant cases with no direct contact have emerged at a quarantine hotel for arrivals in Hong Kong, raising the possibility of airborne transmission.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 6th (local time), researchers from the University of Hong Kong stated in a paper published on the 3rd in the International Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that "after reviewing the hotel's closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, there was no contact between the two individuals, and neither left their respective quarantine rooms."

Both infected individuals were fully vaccinated and stayed in opposite rooms across the corridor at the same quarantine hotel after arriving in Hong Kong last month. The first infected person is a man in his 30s from South Africa who arrived on the 11th of last month, and the second is a man in his 60s who entered Hong Kong from Canada.

The research team believes it is highly likely that the virus was transmitted through the air when the infected individuals opened their doors to receive food or undergo COVID-19 testing.

Hong Kong authorities suspect secondary transmission occurred between the two infected individuals. This is based on the fact that the South African traveler wore a valve-type mask, which does not effectively filter the virus during quarantine, and that there were no reported Omicron infections in Canada at the time the Canadian traveler entered Hong Kong.

The researchers stated, "The transmission of the Omicron variant between two fully vaccinated individuals across a corridor in a quarantine hotel highlights a potential concern."