UK virus variant likely found in Hong Kong

HONG KONG: A new variant of the novel coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in Britain appears to have infected two students who returned to Hong Kong from the UK, Hong Kong’s Department of Health said on Wednesday, as the city secured 22.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Virus samples from the two students, who returned to the Asian financial hub in December, appeared to match the British variant of the coronavirus, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, an agency under the Department of Health, told a daily press briefing.

More analysis needed to be done to verify the samples, she said. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, at a separate news briefing on Wednesday, said the government had secured 7.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and was looking for a fourth source to ensure adequate supply for the city’s 7.5 million residents.