Hong Kong to Conduct COVID-19 Testing for All Citizens with Support from China

Starting Next Month... Testing Conducted for Volunteers

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Hong Kong, with support from the Chinese government, is set to conduct COVID-19 testing for approximately 7.5 million residents.

On the 21st, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's Chief Executive, announced at a press conference that free COVID-19 testing will begin on the 1st of next month (local time). Accordingly, anyone aged 6 and above who wishes to be tested can receive the COVID-19 test free of charge, even if they show no symptoms.

The Chinese government will provide around 60 personnel to support this effort. AFP reported that three mainland Chinese companies, including BGI Group, will lead the testing operations through their Hong Kong branches.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Chief Executive Lam stated that large-scale testing would be impossible without assistance from the Chinese government. The testing is expected to take about two weeks to complete, and the testing capacity in both the public and private sectors will be expanded more than tenfold.

AFP also reported concerns from Hong Kong's opposition that China might misuse the testing to collect biometric information such as DNA from Hong Kong citizens.

Meanwhile, although the spread of COVID-19 in Hong Kong had subsided by the end of March, it began to intensify again last month. Since early this month, the number of new confirmed cases has been decreasing. According to the international statistics site Worldometer, Hong Kong has a cumulative total of 4,632 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 75 deaths reported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.