Government workers are preparing a mobile testing unit outside a building in the Kwun Tong area of Hong Kong on January 31.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
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Hong Kong is threatening to slam the doors of residents who do not respond to authorities conducting blitzes for mandatory tests as the city tries to end a persistent winter wave of coronavirus cases.
“The government can take legal action, including the removal of individuals or the application to a magistrate for a warrant to break into a unit and enter forcefully,” the authority said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Asian financial center has sought to curb a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections, with the targeted blockade causing authorities to cordon off an area and restrict movement until residents get negative results. The government has suggested that some of the tests will be deliberately evaded in areas ranging from densely populated neighborhoods to just a handful of buildings.
Hong Kong lifts second exclusion in Kowloon for Covid tests
During surprise shutdowns in four Hong Kong districts on Monday night, about 17% of the 680 households visited by officers did not answer the door, according to Bloomberg’s calculations. The government said they found no positive cases after testing nearly 1,700 residents.
‘Ambush Style’
Hong Kong, a city of 7.5 million, is relatively unharmed by the virus compared to other major financial centers. The city has fewer than 10,500 cases and only 182 deaths since the pandemic began.
But Hong Kong, which saw cases of the virus in early 2020 when it began spreading around the world, has encountered more waves than many other places and is now enduring a long round of stop-start social distance restrictions. Residents and business owners eagerly seeking an end to a recession brought on by months of street protests followed by the pandemic, must now endure what CEO Carrie Lam called ‘operations in an ambush style. ”
Hong Kong authorities have conducted eight operations and tested about 10,000 people since January 23, but have only detected a total of 14 positive cases of coronavirus. The latest six mini-exclusions have not detected any positive cases.
Amid repeated criticism that the mini-lockdown tactic was not effective, Lam on Tuesday defended the government’s methods. She said it was only one preventative measure among many, and that the number of confirmed cases not found was the only measure of success.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
“You can not really measure the effectiveness of these operations by the number of cases identified,” Lam said at a weekly briefing before a meeting of her advisory board. “I do not think it is a waste of resources.”
Concern of Beijing
These targeted test flashes should not replace other efforts to detect and test people throughout the transmission chain, said Leung Chi-chiu, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association’s Communicable Diseases Advisory Committee.
“12-hour exclusions and tests cannot detect cases in incubation,” Leung said. ‘It’s important to avoid giving yourself a false sense of security. If it were to cause a delay in a retest for any resident with new symptoms, it could cause another embarrassment. ‘
Lam said in her remarks on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had expressed concern during a conference call last week about Hong Kong’s current spate of infections.
“President Xi has expressed his concern and that is quite reasonable,” Lam said. “I believe the president is very concerned. He wants to support us. ”
– With help from Jinshan Hong and Jon Herskovitz
(Updates throughout with new details.)