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Just over a week ago, with Hong Kong reporting a record 10,000 COVID cases a day, their government announced they would impose City-Wide Compulsory Testing In March & School Closures, along with warnings that additional measures might be enacted.
HK Chief Executive Carrie Lam described the plan, saying each resident would be PCR tested 3 times in March (every 5 to 7 days), while doing daily at-home rapid tests. Schools would be closed and turned into testing, quarantine, and isolation centers.
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.
Today, with a 5-fold increase in cases in just 8 days, and not enough isolation and quarantine beds to handle the number of daily cases they have now, cracks in these plans are beginning to show.
From RTHK.hk today:
Experts question March mass testing planSeveral medical experts have questioned the government’s plan to conduct a citywide Covid testing exercise this month, expressing concern as to whether Hong Kong has enough facilities to isolate infected people.
On an RTHK radio show, the vice-president of the Hong Kong Society for Infectious Diseases, Wilson Lam, said testing everyone in the SAR could help detect infections sooner, but currently, the city doesn't seem to have enough isolation facilities for the mass testing plan.
This city-wide testing, which was expected to launch in early March, is still apparently being `refined', according to a press release from the HK Govt, with no firm start date.
Mandatory testing for all is an important part of the anti-epidemic action plan announced by the Chief Executive on the 22nd of last month, which will help Hong Kong to more thoroughly identify cases of infection in the community.
Due to the huge scale of compulsory testing for all people, there is no room for mistakes in implementation. The government must plan carefully to ensure that there are sufficient supporting facilities and sufficient manpower. At present, the plan is still in the refinement stage, and it will be announced and widely publicized as soon as it is finalized, so that the public can fully grasp the arrangement so as not to cause misunderstanding or confusion.
With persistent rumors and media speculation regarding a city-wide lockdown driving panic buying across the city, today Chief Executive stated no `Complete Lockdown' of the city was planned, although `. . . citizens will be restricted from going out' during mandatory testing periods.
Chief Executive: No city-wide ban
March 2, 2022
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that with the strong support of the central government, the authorities have the ability to conduct tests for all Hong Kong citizens in a short period of time. During the mandatory testing period, citizens will be restricted from going out, but the city will not be banned. The government will do a good job in disseminating information to reduce public anxiety.
The first train of railway freight of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong arrived in Hong Kong today. Carrie Lam went to greet her and met with the media. She said that conducting nationwide testing should take into account the actual situation in Hong Kong, as well as the economic sector and the daily needs of citizens, such as buying medicines and seeking medical treatment, and the need for anti-epidemic personnel to go out. The authorities will plan carefully.
She said that some places have implemented city-wide bans or closures. Hong Kong will definitely not take such measures, but citizens will be restricted from going out to a certain extent, which will greatly reduce the flow of people and reduce the risk of community infection.
Carrie Lam said that in order to cooperate with the compulsory testing of the whole people, extensive and effective publicity is needed. The government will release accurate information to let citizens know the requirements of the testing plan for them and the follow-up work after the confirmed cases are identified.
And as telegraphed earlier by news reports, we have official confirmation that more than 55,000 new COVID cases have been reported in the city in the past 24 hours, and that the trend continues upwards.
The upward trend of more than 50,000 confirmed cases is expected to continue
March 2, 2022
There were 55,353 new positive test cases for the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong, a single-day high. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health said that more citizens have adopted the rapid antigen test, and the trend of case growth is expected to continue.
Au Ka-wing, chief physician of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a briefing today that since the fifth wave of the epidemic, a total of 281,099 cases have been confirmed. In the past period of time, the number of confirmed cases has basically doubled every two to three days. There were more than 30,000 cases a day in the first two days, and today it reached more than 50,000 cases, which is within expectations.
He pointed out that the number of confirmed cases is still rising, and it is difficult to estimate whether the epidemic has reached its peak. At present, more citizens can use rapid testing to determine whether an individual is infected. With the later launch of the online reporting platform established by the Center for Protection, the number of cases confirmed by rapid antigen testing will further increase, and the infection situation can be accurately known by then.
Au Jiarong also said that yesterday, 55 new institutions recorded infection cases or outbreaks, with a total of 716 patients, involving 488 residents and 228 employees. A total of 670 residential homes have experienced infection cases or outbreaks, involving about 3,650 residents and 1,150 staff.
Among the new cases, 27 were imported from other places, of which 23 arrived from Jakarta, Indonesia on March 1 by Cathay Pacific CX796. In this regard, the Department of Health has prohibited flights operated by Cathay Pacific from landing in Hong Kong from Jakarta between the 3rd and 16th of this month.
In addition, in view of the sewage samples discharged from Yiu Shing House , Tin Yiu (1) Estate, Tin Shui Wai , Block 11, Scenic Garden , Tsing Yi , Chun Yat House , Chun Yeung Estate, Fo Tan , Tak Long House , Tak Long Estate , Kwun Tong, On Tai Estate and Tai House , Kowloon City After the positive result of the new coronavirus test, the government made a restriction and testing announcement, and the above-mentioned buildings were designated as restricted areas, and residents were required to undergo mandatory testing before the designated time.
As sewage samples from some residences in Sham Shui Po, outlying islands, North District, Yuen Long and Kwai Tsing in multiple districts also tested positive for the virus, the Home Affairs Department will distribute rapid test kits to relevant households, cleaners and property management staff in succession from tomorrow. They test themselves.
The Government has set up a dedicated webpage to provide relevant information and health advice on COVID-19.
