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HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government acted overnight in a multi-office effort to place parts of Jordan, a neighborhood on the Kowloon Peninsula, under lockdown for mandatory testing as the pandemic situation remains worrying.
This is the first time the government has imposed a blockade, albeit on a small scale, since the pandemic began.
Individuals in the specified restricted area in Jordan, bounded by Woosung Street to the east, Nanking Street to the south, Battery Street to the west, and Kansu Street to the north, are required to stay on their premises and undergo mandatory testing.
Anyone who has been in the restricted area for more than two hours in the past two weeks must also go for testing at the end of Saturday (January 23).
Speaking to reporters in the afternoon after an inspection of the area, Executive Director Carrie Lam asked the public for their understanding of any inconvenience or confusion caused by the nature of the exercise.
Arrangements have been made for people who were affected by the lockdown and who do not live in the area to rest in a dedicated place, he said.
Ms. Lam noted that this is the first time the government has resorted to a blockade, but emphasized that it is different from other countries.
“I must make it very clear that what we are doing is not what people see in other places as a confinement because a confinement usually means that you are not allowed to go out for a while.
“But in our case, this ban is tied to testing … So it is for the purpose of mandatory testing,” he said, when asked if he is under pressure from Beijing to take such an approach.
Ms. Lam added that she has also asked Beijing for support on the vaccine issue.
Earlier this week, the advisory panel recommended that the government approve the use of BioNTech and AstraZeneca, with the former expected to arrive in Hong Kong in late February.
In a statement issued early Saturday morning, the government said it aims to conclude this exercise in 48 hours to “achieve the goal of zero cases in the district” and allow residents to get to work at 6 am next Monday. .
He said the outbreaks in the district were still serious.
From January 1 to 20, the specified area in Jordan recorded 162 confirmed cases, involving 56 buildings.
“In recent days, the proportion of sewage samples found in buildings located in the restricted area that were consistently tested positive was higher than in other areas in the specified area of Jordan, implying that there are possibly infected people in those places, “the government said.
He added that buildings in the restricted area of Jordan are old and lacking in maintenance and that subdivided units are common, so the risks of infection are high.
“After the risk assessment, we believe it is necessary to issue a test statement of restriction for the restricted area to break the chain of transmission in the district and allay the concerns of residents in the district,” the statement added.
The government called on employers to be understanding, adding that it hopes that “the temporary inconvenience will cut off local broadcast networks completely” and ease residents’ concerns and fears.
In a morning briefing on Saturday, Health Secretary Sophia Chan, Environment Secretary Wong Kam Sing, and Home Secretary Caspar Tsui stressed that the exercise was necessary to stop broadcasts.
As of 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, at least 3,000 people in the area have undergone tests. The workforce had visited more than 50 buildings, involving about 1,000 families.
“There is a possibility that some people are in the incubation period, so we will not rule out doing a second round of testing. We will consider this, and due to the incubation, some people in this area may have already been tested, but We will require that all of this area be tested anyway, ‘Professor Chan said, adding that there are 51 test stations in the area that will operate until midnight.
Only those with confirmed results can leave the area, while those who test positive will be sent to the hospital, he said.
Tsui said that more than 3,000 employees from various offices have mobilized for this exercise and that they will go door-to-door to find residents to take the test.
He added that if any residents have emergency needs, such as medicine or food, government officials on the scene will help them.
Overnight, workers began loading food and cleaning supplies into the area while officials cordoned off the restricted area and set up temporary sample collection stations.
At 11.30 pm, some residents of the area were seen “fleeing” with their suitcases and pets, local media reported.
This came after news leaked earlier in the day about the pending shutdown, but health officials had no comment when asked at the daily briefing.
The confusion was evident when the media reported that there were residents who wanted to get their property and pets back in the restricted area, but were left stranded, saying they were not informed.
Hong Kong recorded 81 cases on Saturday, of which 78 are local, 35 cannot be traced and 21 are from Yau Tsim Mong, while six are from Sham Shui Po. This brings the count to 10,009 cases and 168 deaths.
Health officials said in the daily briefing on Friday that there were more than 50 preliminary cases.
In the past two weeks, more than 20,000 people have been tested at the Yau Ma Tei test centers.
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