HK races to contain outbreak as cases soar

Medical workers from mainland sent to help city conduct large-scale testing

Hong Kong is taking urgent steps to increase its testing capacity for COVID-19 with support from Chinese mainland authorities, including the dispatch of medical workers, as the city races to contain its worst-ever outbreak, with 1,161 new cases recorded on Wednesday.

Between 100 and 200 mainland medical workers will work at a makeshift novel coronavirus testing laboratory being set up by BGI Group, said Antony Wu Ting-yuk, chairman of BGI's affiliate lab in Hong Kong.

Daily testing capacity is expected to increase from 200,000 to 300,000.The facility, called the Huo-Yan Laboratory and located at the Ma On Shan Sports Centre in the New Territories, will be gradually put into operation from the middle of this month, Wu said.

BGI is one of several companies contracted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to conduct large-scale COVID-19 testing. It first built the Huo-Yan Laboratory in the city in August 2020. The lab, then set up at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre on Hong Kong Island, played a vital role in reducing novel coronavirus transmissions during a previous spike in the city's epidemic.

In the immediate short term, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday the government will purchase millions of rapid testing kits for COVID-19 from the mainland and distribute them to residents in high-risk areas.

She also expressed confidence that the city can contain the current outbreak with firm support from the central government.

The new measures have become necessary as the city faces an unrelenting surge of infections.

As a result, there has been a rapid spike in demand across the city for virus testing and quarantine and treatment facilities, putting the government's resources, including the public health system, under extreme pressure.

The virus has spread at a staggering speed, with the number of infections rising from just three linked with imported cases in December to more than 4,000 local cases in the past two weeks. The worsening situation coincided with Lunar New Year festive gatherings. Health authorities have found many transmission clusters affecting multiple families in recent days.

The government announced its toughest social distancing measures on Tuesday and advised people to stay vigilant, avoid gatherings, go out less and basically stay home.

Many people in Hong Kong welcomed the dispatch of the mainland medical team, some members of which have already arrived. Lawmaker Yiu Pak-leung said he hopes the central government can lend a helping hand by sending more workers and resources so that Hong Kong can launch another mass testing effort to find hidden infections as soon as possible.

Doctor Leung Chi-chiu, a communicable diseases expert with the Hong Kong Medical Association, warned the city's medical system would face unbearable pressure if the epidemic cannot be brought under control quickly.

In addition to mainland medical professionals, Leung said the government should consider training local medical students and encouraging them to help front-line medical workers.

A resident surnamed Ng agreed that the city needs more manpower to help with increasing lockdowns and potential mass testing.

Ng said it took him more than two hours to be tested on Wednesday. He suggested the government open more testing centers and send more front-line personnel to maintain order and prevent cross-infection.