Coronavirus: XBB may become dominant strain in Hong Kong, health expert says, pointing to Singapore’s explosion of cases

The highly transmissible XBB could become the next dominant strain of Covid-19 in Hong Kong, but the population’s level of hybrid immunity should stave off severe illnesses, health experts have said.

The city has recorded 140 XBB infections since an overseas traveller became the first known carrier on October 10, but the number still pales beside other cases involving dominant strains in the city, such as BA.4 or BA.5. They accounted for 95.1 per cent of local cases over the past two weeks, compared with less than 0.1 per cent involving XBB.