Govt to ramp up testing capacity to fight Covid: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Friday announced a series of measures to bolster the city’s efforts to tackle what she called an “aggravating” pandemic situation, including boosting Hong Kong’s testing capacity and providing more beds for Covid patients.

The CE said at a press conference that the government has purchased rapid-testing kits which will allow all Hong Kong people to get tested once.

“We are waiting for the kits to arrive,” she said, adding that taking the tests will be entirely voluntary.

Lam said the city will further ramp up testing capacity by doubling the testing quota from 100,000 a day to 200,000, nothing also that the mobile Fire Eye Laboratory will reopen within this month to further bolster the SAR’s daily testing capacity to 300,000.

In order to better utilise the government’s isolation facilities, meanwhile, the Hong Kong leader said the Penny’s Bay quarantine camp will gradually be turned into a hospitalisation facility for Covid patients with few or no symptoms.

Close contacts of Covid patients will eventually be told to quarantine at home.

“This arrangement will not come into effect yet. We will only implement the measure when the Covid situation worsens further,” she said.

Asked whether the policy of containment is still the best way forward given the added pressure on medical manpower and facilities, the CE stressed that zero-Covid remains the SAR’s goal.

“At the moment, [containment] is still our best policy and strategy for Hong Kong. It has proven to be effective in helping Hong Kong to suppress the previous waves in allowing people to get back to their normal work,” Lam said.

“Achieving dynamic zero is still our best target.”

Separately, Lam said the city will likely further tighten social distancing measures to limit the flow of people in the community, adding that the proposal will be submitted to the Executive Council for discussion next week.

Executive councillors are also due to discuss the government’s proposal to expand the planned “vaccine pass” arrangement to cover more premises.

The CE said she’s not in a position to comment further because policy ideas are subject to deliberation by councillors, but she revealed that one of the proposals is to extend the vaccine mandate to people using public transport.

“It is controversial for public transport, some people support it and some don’t. Law enforcement is also another point to consider,” Lam said.

The chief executive urged Hong Kong people to get vaccinated as soon as possible, saying that’s the most effective way to combat the virus.