Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (front left) inspects the air-inflated laboratory at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre after attending a ceremony to welcome the arrival of mainland nucleic acid test support team, Hong Kong, Aug 28, 2020. (PHOTO/ HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
Safety and protection of privacy are guaranteed for the Universal Community Testing Program to be open to online appointment today, the Hong Kong government said. “The testing is safe, convenient and speedy with full protection of privacy,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet--ngor said on Friday, while attending a ceremony welcoming Chinese mainland medical professionals arriving to help with the testing. “I appeal to everyone to participate.”
No personal particulars will be indicated on the sampling bottles of the program. The testing agencies will know only the serial numbers but not the identities of the specimen owners.
HKSAR govt
All the testing will be conducted in Hong Kong in the next two weeks, while specimens involved will not be transported outside Hong Kong and will be destroyed after testing, the government pledged. “No personal particulars will be indicated on the sampling bottles of the program. The testing agencies will know only the serial numbers but not the identities of the specimen owners,” said a government spokesman on Friday.
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“Moreover, no personal information (including specimens and test results) will be transported outside Hong Kong. ... Information of individual cases with positive results will be passed to the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority for follow--up.”
To ensure the health and safety of the public participating in the program, the community testing centers have been well assessed by the Department of Health and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and made sure they are suitable for such massive testing, he added.
“Various infection control measures in accordance with the recommendations of the Department of Health are in place. Adequate protective equipment including suitable respirators (or equivalent), eye protection, gowns, and gloves, have been provided to the staff.”
A total of 141 temporary swab collection sites have been set up, mostly at stadiums, community halls and government schools across the city, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said when unveiling details on Friday. He reassured that strict infection control measures, such as ventilation, disinfection and temperature screening have been put in place at these facilities to reduce infection risks.
Residents who test negative for the coronavirus will receive their results via text message within three days of swab collection, while those with positive readings will get a call from the Department of Health before being sent to public hospitals.
Lam and other leading officials have urged residents to sign up for the city’s free voluntary coronavirus testing program, which is open to online registration by the city’s 7.5 million people on Saturday and starts on Tuesday.
At a ceremony to welcome the arrival of the mainland nucleic acid test support team at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre, Lam said: “(The testing) can help us to identify asymptomatic patients and further curb the epidemic, thereby enabling the resumption of normal social lives and economic activities long awaited by the public as soon as possible.”
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung wrote an open letter to the city’s principals, teachers, students and their parents, calling on them to sign up for free tests. He hoped that schools can reopen as soon as possible
She thanked the central government, as “it cares about the safety and health of the Hong Kong people and has given a clear and positive response to the specific requests made by the Hong Kong special administrative region government.”
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Before inspecting laboratories set up at the center, where most of swab samples are expected to be tested, the Hong Kong leader also expressed her thanks to the 164 mainland doctors and nurses, as well as 60 others who had arrived earlier from the mainland, who made possible the citywide testing.
Hong Kong reported 13 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the third-lowest daily caseload since July 5, when the city’s third wave of infections started. The overall tally stood at 4,768.
Friday’s new cases included 10 local infections, three of which were untraced, deepening worries over asymptomatic patients left in the community.
A 91-year-old man and a 76-yearold man, both suffering chronic illnesses, died on Friday, pushing the city’s coronavirus-related deaths to 83. Nip urged Hong Kong people, especially high-risk groups such as senior citizens and domestic helpers, to register for the free testing.
The government will remind employers to encourage their employees to get tested, he added. But he cautioned that those who have already developed symptoms should visit doctors rather than go for the tests.
More than 6,000 local medical professionals have been recruited to collect swab specimens, while 4,000 current or retired civil servants are ready to help with support work, according to Nip.
Also on Friday, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung wrote an open letter to the city’s principals, teachers, students and their parents, calling on them to sign up for free tests. He hoped that schools can reopen as soon as possible.
Speaking on a public radio program on Friday, Halina Poon Sukhan, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council, quoted education officials as saying face-to-face classes will not resume before Sept 14 and the Education Bureau needs two more weeks to assess the local outbreak.
