Government workers are preparing a mobile test unit outside a closed building in the Kwun Tong district of Hong Kong on January 31st.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
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Hong Kong threatens to knock on the doors of residents who do not respond to authorities conducting mandatory bombing tests as the city tries to end a persistent winter wave of coronavirus cases.
“The government can take legal action, including the removal of people or the request to a magistrate of an order to enter and forcefully enter a unit,” authorities said on Tuesday.
The Asian financial center has been trying to curb a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections with specific blockages that have seen authorities cordon off an area and restrict movements until residents receive negative results. The government has suggested that some may be deliberately avoiding testing in areas ranging from densely populated neighborhoods to just a handful of buildings.
Hong Kong rises to second blockade in Kowloon for Covid tests
On Monday evening during surprise closures in four districts of Hong Kong, approximately 17% of the 680 homes visited by agents did not answer the door, according to Bloomberg estimates. The government said it found no positive case after testing nearly 1,700 residents.
“Ambush Style”
Hong Kong, a densely populated city of 7.5 million people, has been relatively virus-free compared to other major financial centers. The city has recorded less than 10,500 cases in total and only 182 deaths since the pandemic began.
But Hong Kong, which saw cases of the virus in early 2020 as it began to spread around the world, has found more waves than many other places and is now enduring a prolonged round of social distancing restrictions that are triggering them. Residents and employers intentionally seeking an end to a recession caused by months of street protests followed by the pandemic, they now have to endure what Carrie Lam, chief executive, has said.ambush style operations ”.
Hong Kong authorities have conducted eight operations and tested about 10,000 people since Jan. 23, but have only discovered a total of 14 positive coronavirus cases. The last six mini-locks revealed no positive case.
Amid repeated criticism that the mini-blockade tactic has not been effective, Lam on Tuesday defended government methods. He said they were only a preventative measure among many and that the number of confirmed cases discovered was not the only metric of success.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
“The effectiveness of these operations cannot really be measured by the number of cases identified,” Lam said in a weekly briefing before his Executive Board meeting. “I don’t think it’s a waste of resources.”
The concern of Beijing
These specific test pumps should not replace other efforts to track and test people across the transmission chain, said Leung Chi-chiu, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association’s communicable disease advisory committee.
“Blockages for 12 hours and tests cannot detect cases of incubation,” Leung said. “It is important to avoid giving a false sense of security. If this causes a delay in going for a new test of any resident with new symptoms, this could lead to another embarrassing outbreak. “
In his remarks on Tuesday, Lam said Chinese President Xi Jinping had expressed concern over the current wave of Hong Kong infections at a conference call last week.
“President Xi has expressed concern and concerns, and that is totally reasonable,” Lam said. “I think the president is very worried. He wants to support us. “
– With the assistance of Jinshan Hong and Jon Herskovitz
(Updates with new details.)