Government officials prepare a mobile test unit outside a locked building in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong neighborhood on Jan. 31.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
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Hong Kong threatens to knock down the doors of residents who fail to respond to authorities running blitzes for mandatory tests as the city tries to end an ongoing winter wave of coronavirus cases.
“The government can take legal action, including removing individuals or requesting a burglary order from a judicial authority to forcibly enter a unit,” authorities said in a statement Tuesday.
The Asian financial hub has attempted to stem a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections with targeted lockdowns with authorities closing off an area and restricting movement until residents receive negative results. The government has suggested that some are deliberately bypassing the tests in areas ranging from densely packed neighborhoods to just a handful of buildings.
Hong Kong lifts second lockdown in Kowloon for Covid tests
During surprising lockdowns in four districts of Hong Kong on Monday evening, approximately 17% of the 680 households visited by agents did not show up, according to Bloomberg’s calculations. The government said it found no positive cases after testing nearly 1,700 residents.
‘Ambush style’
A densely packed city of 7.5 million people, Hong Kong is relatively unscathed by the virus compared to other major financial centers. The city has had fewer than 10,500 cases and only 182 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
But Hong Kong, which saw cases of the virus in early 2020 as it began spreading around the world, has seen more waves than many other places, and is now facing a protracted round of stop-start social distance restrictions. Residents and entrepreneurs eagerly seeking an end to a recession triggered by months of street protests followed by the pandemic must now weather what Chief Executive Carrie Lam has called “ambush style operations. “
Hong Kong authorities have performed eight surgeries and tested approximately 10,000 people since January 23, but have only detected 14 positive coronavirus cases in total. The last six mini-lockdowns have not detected any positive cases.
Despite repeated criticism that the mini-lockdown tactic was ineffective, Lam defended the government’s methods on Tuesday. She said they were just one of many preventative measures, and the number of confirmed cases was not the only measure of success.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
“You can’t really gauge the effectiveness of these operations by the number of cases identified,” Lam said during a weekly briefing ahead of a meeting of her executive advisory council. “I don’t think it’s a waste of resources.”
Beijing’s concern
These targeted testing blitzes should not be a substitute for other efforts to identify and test people along the chain of transmission, said Leung Chi-chiu, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association’s advisory committee on communicable diseases.
“Interlocks for 12 hours and testing cannot detect cases in incubation,” said Leung. “It is important to avoid a false sense of security. Should that delay the retesting of a resident with new symptoms, it could trigger another embarrassing outbreak. “
In her comments on Tuesday, Lam said Chinese President Xi Jinping had expressed concern last week about the current wave of infections in Hong Kong.
“President Xi has expressed his concerns and concerns, and it is perfectly reasonable,” Lam said. “I think the president is very concerned. He wants to support us. “
– With help from Jinshan Hong and Jon Herskovitz
(Updates everywhere with new details.)