Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung (right) is briefed on the preparatory work to turn Dorsett Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong into a community isolation facility, on Feb 17, 2022. (PHOTO / INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT, HKSAR)

HONG KONG – The first community isolation facility (CIF) hotel in Hong Kong will begin operation Friday, providing accommodation to isolate people who test positive for COVID-19 but have no or mild symptoms. 

Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung inspected Dorsett Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong on Thursday to ensure the first CIF hotel is ready. 

READ MORE: HK govt secures 4,400 hotel rooms for isolation

The Security Bureau has set up a taskforce responsible for the preparation and management of the CIFs and hotels and assisting the admission arrangement of COVID-19 patients to hospitals or CIFs, according to a government press release. 

Dorsett Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel, iclub Fortress Hill Hotel and Regal Oriental Hotel will be turned into CIFs by this week 

Former Director of Fire Services Li Kin-yat has been appointed as the officer-in-charge of the task force. 

The bureau has recruited some 1,000 retirees of various disciplinary forces to participate in relevant work, Tang said.  

To be deployed to various CIFs or hotels to assist the operation and management of the facilities, the personnel will receive training and be equipped with sufficient protective gear, he added. 

The security chief also thanked the hotels for participating in the scheme supporting the anti-epidemic work, adding that he hoped the government and the hotel sector could join hands in riding out the fifth wave of the epidemic.  

About 4,400 hotel rooms have been secured by the government. Among the hotels, Dorsett Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel, iclub Fortress Hill Hotel and Regal Oriental Hotel will be turned into CIFs by this week. 

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The government will closely liaise with the participating hotels to ensure the transfer of people thereto, their isolation in the designated hotel rooms and subsequent discharge in an orderly manner, added the press release.