Hong Kong’s authorities placed 80 residents of the house on a three-week quarantine after identifying one of the tenants of the first case of infection by mutation of the N501Y coronavirus strain, reports the South China Morning Post newspaper.
N501Y mutation in the key contact site of the protein-spike is present both in “British” and in the “South African” strains.
This mutation was discovered on Friday at a 29-year-old resident of the city, which on March 19 returned from Dubai, where he worked as an engineer. According to the newspaper, an insulation of 80 residents of the house is “the most rigid measure to control infection.” According to the remark of one of the representatives of the Ministry of Health of Hong Kong, the introduction of quarantine is necessary “due to the fact that the mutation of the strain is more infection.”
According to the Minister of Health of Hong Kong Sofia Chen, the investigation into infections of the N501Y strain mutation continues. She added that the sick did not have any symptoms, and its tests for the presence of coronavirus infection were negative during its three-week quarantine at the hotel. She noted that a man could become infected in Dubai, and the strain could be in an extraordinarily long incubation period.
She clarified that Hong Kong’s authorities have already suspended the performance of some flights to avoid the spread of coronavirus strains.
“Fourteenth of April We tightened the mechanism of suspension of passenger flights. Despite the fact that in some countries after the start of vaccination programs, there was a decrease in the number of infections, in general, strains mutations are still distributed. It makes us worry about the possibility of importing such cases”, – Provides the newspaper Chen statement.