Residents under lockdown get food, tag after test

Thousands of Jordan residents streamed to Covid-19 testing booths on Saturday, hours after the government made the unprecedented move of setting up a restricted zone in part of the Kowloon district, while imposing a 48-hour lockdown.

Jordan is at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak, with over 160 cases in more than 50 building since the beginning of the month. It features many old buildings, often with subdivided flats and damaged sewage pipes.

Police officers in protective gear began sealing off the area at around 4 am on Saturday, as the government declared the restricted area which runs east-to-west from Woosung Street to Battery Street, and north to south from Kansu Street to Nanking Street.

Those who completed their Covid testing were given a wristband and a bag of supplies, including cup noodles, canned food, bread and face masks.

One resident said there were a lot of people waiting to get tested, and it took her around an hour to complete the process.

People were banned from staying on the streets, and were asked to return home after getting tested.

Many people were caught off-guard by the arrangement and expressed their anger with the government.

A 47-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly attacked a police officer, who had told him he would have to be tested after entering the restricted area, and that he couldn’t leave until the results were out.

A newspaper vendor, surnamed Chow, also criticised the government for the late notice.

“I didn’t even have enough time to shut the stand,” he said, adding that he had recently tested negative for the virus and that he would now have to get retested.

Journalists, who were originally reporting in the area on Friday, were also forced to spend the night in a hotel, after being told they also had to be tested.

But as they filmed the scene while heading to their designated testing booths, police warned them they would be fined, if they didn’t immediately return to their hotel afterwards.