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HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s plan to screen all residents for coronavirus is hampered by limited uptake as a cautious public turns away from the China-backed health plan.
The free voluntary tests are part of an attempt to stamp out a third wave of infections that began in late June and saw the densely populated city reimpose financially painful social distancing measures.
READ: Comment: How did Hong Kong hit a third wave of COVID-19 infections?
But the involvement of Chinese testing companies has deterred many in a politically divided city that is convulsing with resentment toward the Beijing government.
On Monday (September 7) morning, Civil Service Chief Patrick Nip said 1.15 million people had signed up since mass testing began last Tuesday, out of a city population of around 7.5 million.
That figure is well below the 4 million to 5 million of leading health experts who said it would be necessary for a massive testing scheme to be effective in finding and stopping hidden chains of transmission.
Nip said the tests would be extended for an additional seven days to encourage more people to sign up.
“Take the opportunity to help Hong Kong end the third wave of the epidemic so that people’s lives and economic activities can gradually return,” he wrote on Facebook.
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The tepid enthusiasm is a blow to the city’s pro-Beijing leadership, which suffers from low approval ratings.
They had asked residents to accept the plan, calling it a benevolent public health initiative made possible by Chinese aid.
But the involvement of teams and laboratories from the mainland has sparked rumors and compounded fears from Beijing’s surveillance state, which uses biometric data to monitor its citizens.
A group of pro-democracy politicians and lawmakers, as well as a critical Beijing medical union, called on the public to boycott the test.
Some prominent Hong Kong health experts also questioned the efficacy of a mass testing program, arguing that more targeted monitoring of vulnerable and at-risk communities would be a better use of resources.
They expressed concern that testing so many people could help spread the virus in a city where emergency rules currently prohibit more than two people from meeting in public.
On Sunday, police arrested nearly 300 people protesting the government’s decision to suspend local elections for a year because of the virus.
READ: Hong Kong police shoot pepperballs at protesters who oppose delay of elections, new law
Both Beijing and the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, have accused those who oppose the tests of being politically motivated and “anti-China.”
Lam said DNA or other biometric data will not be collected from the samples, which will not be analyzed on the mainland.
At the height of the third wave in late July, Hong Kong was registering around 150 new cases a day.
Over the past two weeks, that number has ranged from 10 to 20 a day, even with the massive testing program underway.
Since the pandemic began, Hong Kong has recorded nearly 4,900 infections and 98 deaths from coronavirus.
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