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Although it has been widely reported for several hours that Hong Kong would test all residents for COVID three times during the month of March, and that schools would close so they can be used for isolation and testing centers, Hong Kong's government news site has only just now published the details.
First, details on the planned testing of the entire population of Hong Kong, roughly every 5 to 7 days, during the month of March.
Next month, the national compulsory inspection will be carried out three times per person
February 22, 2022
The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, announced that a nationwide compulsory test will be implemented next month. At that time, citizens will be arranged to undergo three nucleic acid tests in batches based on their birth year to identify hidden patients in the community. She also said that the compulsory inspection of the whole people has the force of law, and non-compliance will be punished.
In a meeting with the media today, Carrie Lam said that with the support and assistance of the central government and the recent strengthening of testing capabilities by local testing contractors, it is believed that the number of tests in Hong Kong can be increased to no less than 1 million per day.
In order to implement compulsory testing for all people, hundreds of testing centers will be set up in Hong Kong, and an appointment system will be set up. Citizens can make appointments for testing on designated days according to their birth year, so as to avoid queuing at the testing centers and arrange for the replacement of new smart ID cards. like. In addition, a nationwide forced inspection has set up a caring arrangement, and each member of the public can bring two children or elders to be tested together.
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that each mandatory test is five or seven days apart, during which the public is required to take a rapid antigen test every day. Citizens will be given test kits after they go to the testing center for testing, and the number will be sufficient for them to use every day before the next test. The authorities will also provide KN95 or similar highly protective masks to citizens for enhanced protection.
The implementation of the nationwide compulsory inspection will be carried out by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Tsang Kwok-wai. Lam Zhengyue-ngor said that before the implementation of the nationwide compulsory inspection, the government will still intensify its efforts to enclose and enforce the inspection of buildings, and may increase the number of enclosures, while mandatory testing and regular testing of specific groups will also continue.
Schools that normally recess for the summer during July and August will close for March and April, to allow those facilities to be used for isolation, testing, and vaccination centers.
Strive for the diploma examination to start as scheduled in the summer vacation
February 22, 2022
The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, announced that the school schedule for the 2021-22 school year will be adjusted. The summer vacation originally started in July and August will be brought forward to March and April, and teaching is expected to resume after the Easter vacation. Regarding the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, the authorities strive to start the examination as originally planned.
In a meeting with the media today, Carrie Lam said that the early summer vacation would allow all walks of life to concentrate on fighting the epidemic, and school buildings could be vacated for the government to use for virus testing, isolation and vaccination against the new crown. After waiting for two or three months to ease the epidemic, students can go back to school with peace of mind.
This arrangement is expected to be implemented at the beginning of next month, after the current round of suspension of face-to-face classes, and applies to all primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong, including international schools and special schools. As for post-secondary institutions, since some universities have already required dormitory students to leave their dormitories and do not offer face-to-face classes before August, the government will let post-secondary institutions decide their own summer vacation arrangements.
In addition, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that the authorities are striving for the safe start of the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination on April 22 as scheduled, so as to facilitate the entry of Secondary 6 students into higher education.
She said that depending on the development of the epidemic, primary schools and international schools can resume face-to-face classes after the Easter holiday in mid-April, and secondary school students will resume classes after the core subjects of the HKDSE exams, so as to avoid foreign HKDSE candidates and students from our school gathering together one place.
The last school day of this school year is August 12, and the start of the 2022-23 school year will remain unchanged. Classes will start in August and September.
While Hong Kong officials continue to rule out the kind of draconian lockdowns that we've frequently seen employed on the mainland, it seems likely that with the Mainland `advisors' running the show, all options remain on the table.
