Record 113,000 took Covid tests on Saturday

Officials say a record 113,000 people handed over specimens for Covid-19 checks on Saturday as they admitted that testing mandates were putting pressure on test capacity.

Long queues formed at many of the SAR’s 21 community testing centres and 35 mobile specimen collection centres after a series of mandatory testing declarations as officials attempt to stop mutant strains of the coronavirus from taking hold.

Many of those queuing were foreign domestic helpers, who’ve been instructed to take a test by May 9. Some 52,000 helpers took tests on Saturday, a public holiday, while many more joined the queues on Sunday, the regular rest day for most domestic workers.

A government spokesman acknowledged that testing all 370,000 would “impose challenges to the local testing capacity in the short term”.
Officials said that by 6pm on Sunday, 54,000 of the samples had been processed with no preliminary positive cases found.

“For local cases with unknown sources of infection involving mutant strains, the government has to be decisive in adopting swiftly stringent testing and quarantine measures, with an aim to cutting the transmission chains as soon as possible,” the spokesman said.

“Otherwise, the whole society will have to bear significant consequence when there is a major outbreak.”

An additional collection point was set up in Kowloon Park, where many helpers socialise on their day off.

The government has faced criticism on the testing order and suggestions of making vaccination mandatory for visa renewal. Some domestic workers’ advocacy groups and officials at the Philippine consulate say helpers are being stigmatised.

Officials say they ordered the tests solely on public health grounds after two separate cases in which foreign helpers were diagnosed with a Covid variant.
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Last updated: 2021-05-03 HKT 06:17