[Hong Kong, 23rd Reuters]–Hong Kong health officials said yesterday that two students returning from the UK to Hong Kong seem to have been infected with a new coronavirus variant that is spreading in the UK.
A senior official at the Department of Health Conservation Center under the Hong Kong Department of Health said at a regular press conference that the virus collected from the two students appeared to be consistent with the British variant, adding that further analysis was needed to confirm.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at another press conference that the Hong Kong government had secured 7.5 million doses of the corona vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in Hong Kong, with a population of 7.5 million. He said he was looking for a fourth vaccine supplier to get enough of it.
In response to safety concerns, he said he would allow citizens to choose the type of vaccine and called on them to get vaccinated.
Hong Kong has already ordered 7.5 million doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine and 7.5 million doses of vaccine jointly supplied by China’s Shanghai Fusei Pharmaceutical Group and German biopharmacy company Biontech. The first 1 million doses are expected to arrive in January.
Hong Kong has stopped accepting flights from the United Kingdom since the 22nd.
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