Hong Kong’s Streak of No Local Transmission Ends With Mystery Case

(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong’s 23-day streak without a case of local coronavirus transmission came to an end, reflecting the challenge of eradicating a virus that can spread undetected through carriers with no symptoms.

A 66-year-old woman with no recent travel history became infected, the government confirmed Wednesday in a briefing. The news dashed hope that the city successfully contained the virus after nearly four months of school closures and social distancing.

The woman’s five-year-old granddaughter was also confirmed to be infected, while six other family members have displayed symptoms and are now in isolation in a hospital, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the health department’s communicable disease branch.

The woman, who lives in the neighborhood of Tsuen Wan, first developed a fever Friday and tested positive Tuesday, she said. Officials don’t yet know how she picked up the infection.

The emergence of hidden local transmission chains is a setback to the government’s plan to reopen schools and loosen border restrictions as cases dwindle. After months of social distancing, Hong Kong was on verge of resuming normal life. Instead, the Asian financial hub now faces a potential resurgence of infections as it’s unclear how many people the woman came into contact with before her illness was identified.

Health officials are testing all residents in the two housing blocks that the woman visited, Chuang said.

Besides the woman and her granddaughter, a third case in a traveler returning from Pakistan was also reported Wednesday.

“This is the challenge of Covid-19, the fact that so many cases are asymptomatic,” said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong. “Even though there have been no cases for nearly three weeks, that doesn’t mean that the virus is not in circulation. This is a problem not just for Hong Kong but for all countries as they seek to move out of lockdown and restart their economies.”

The resurgence of cases will complicate the political debate in Hong Kong on how quickly social distancing should be eased. While Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s administration eased limits on social gatherings to eight people earlier this month, the rule has come under pressure for being designed to forestall street protests, which in any case have reemerged.

Separately, Hong Kong’s education chief said Wednesday that the government for now wouldn’t push back the reopening of schools, currently slated for May 27.

“If the goal is just to eradicate the virus, then Hong Kong should go back into shutdown mode,” said Thomas, who has edited an academic book series titled “Health Security and Governance.” “But it is about the virus against the backdrop of the economic and social needs of the community, and for that reason this one case is unlikely to prevent the restarting of Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong’s been lauded for reacting quickly to the pandemic, which kept its outbreak small despite its proximity to the mainland. Many of the city’s moves starting as early as January — almost universal mask-wearing and the closure of schools and offices — have since been adopted globally as the pandemic widened.