Mandatory tests for 40 buildings, 20 in Sham Shui Po

2021-01-27 HKT 03:33″ title=”Twenty buildings in the Sham Shui Po area were among 40 hit by testing orders. File image: Shutterstock”>

Twenty buildings in the Sham Shui Po area were among 40 hit by testing orders. File image: Shutterstock

Officials in the early hours of Wednesday ordered mandatory coronavirus tests for resident and visitors to 40 buildings across the SAR, eight of which are found in a single block in Kowloon City.

Most of the orders affect newly expanded zones where stricter testing protocols apply. The zones previously included parts of Yau Ma Tei, Jordan and Sham Shui Po. The Jordan zone was extended on Tuesday, with parts of Mong Kok and an area of Hung Hom also included.

Health authorities ordered tests at eight buildings spanning Hing Yan Street and Hing Yin Street in Kowloon City after sewage samples in the area tested positive.

Two of the buildings, in Tsuen Wan and Tin Shui Wai, were subject to mandatory testing because cases have been found in more than one flat.

The other buildings are all in areas where officials say they will order tests for all residents if their block has just one known infection, or if Covid-19 is found in sewage.

They include seven buildings in Jordan, one each in the Hung Hom and Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok zone and 20 in Sham Shui Po.

The announcement came hours after a sudden lockdown covering part of two streets in Yau Ma Tei. It’s the first of what Chief Executive Carrie Lam said would be “ambush-style” mandatory testing campaigns.