A Covid-19 outbreak at a luxury gym in Hong Kong has sparked fears of a “superspreader” event that could set off another wave of the virus in the city, after 60 new cases were confirmed on Friday.
Many of the latest infections were linked to the outbreak at Ursus Fitness center, which offers boxing and powerlifting classes in Hong Kong’s trendy Sai Ying Pun district, which is popular with the city’s expatriate community.
“We can say this is a super-spreading event,” David Hui, a government adviser on the pandemic, told Hong Kong state media Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on Friday, adding that the explosive spread in the fitness center had prompted concerns of a fifth wave of the pandemic.
Hong Kong reported its highest number of Covid-19 cases in more than six weeks on Thursday, according to the Centre of Health Protection (CHP). Of the 60 new cases, 47 have been linked to the gym, according to Chuang Shuk-kwan, CHP’s head of communicable disease branch.
Chuang said the Hong Kong government will issue an order requiring workers at fitness centers to receive a compulsory Covid-19 test by Sunday. Anyone who visited gym facilities recently should also monitor their health and consider receiving a test, she added.
As of Friday, about 360 people related to the gym outbreak had been placed under government quarantine, she said, while their close contacts are required to take a Covid-19 test.
“It is a serious outbreak because many cases have popped up over a short period of time,” Chuang said, adding that it is challenging because many of those infected work in different professions at the city center.