‘Mass testing best in early or late phases’: expert

A medical expert says now is not the time for Hong Kong to conduct universal Covid testing, given the current pressure on manpower and healthcare facilities.

Dr Yang Lin from the School of Nursing at Polytechnic University said studies showed mass testing worked best when done in the early or late phase of an outbreak.

“Currently it’s not just about the cases. I think the manpower and the healthcare facilities could be major obstacles. Because we have limited manpower and medical resources. We should focus on severe cases at the moment,” she said.

But speaking on RTHK’s Hong Kong Today programme, Yang said the necessary infrastructure had now been put in place for any testing going forward.

“In the future, since we have the quarantine centres and isolation facilities for tens of thousands, we may not need to wait for a few cases, or dozens of cases.”

Yang said authorities could instead focus on doing PCR tests on high-risk citizens, such as the elderly.

“For right now, I think probably the testing capacity should extend more to the high risk population, like nursing homes,” she said.

Yang encouraged more people to get vaccinated, especially the elderly and children.