Several factors may explain this explosive summer outbreak in Hong Kong. First, the sudden increase in social gatherings especially at eateries after the stepping down of public health control measures facilitated person-to-person transmission. Second, this outbreak occurred in the summer, when both the temperature and humidity are high. Whether these climate conditions affect virus transmissibility require further investigations. Third, the unique mutations in these clusters, especially in cluster HK1, may have increased the survival or transmissibility of the virus.
睇左人地寫乜先講，笑恥難辭其咎
After two months of relative quiescence, a large COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Hong Kong in July 2020 after gradual relaxation of social distancing policy. Two unique SARS-CoV-2 phylogenetic clusters have been identified among locally-acquired cases, with most genomes belonging to cluster HK1 which is phylogenetically related to SARS-CoV-2 reported overseas.
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