The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday reported its first local transmission of the COVID-19 variant first detected in South Africa.

Health authorities said a Philippine domestic helper was diagnosed with the variant of N501Y and E484K, two of the more contagious linked to South Africa. The helper had no travel history nor contact with confirmed cases, they said.

Her employer's 10-month-old baby girl also contracted COVID-19, but the exact variant is undetermined.

On Thursday, the authorities evacuated about 400 residents from the building where the Philippine domestic worker lived.