Covid Test Kits Handed Out At Tsz Wan Shan Estate

Mass testing for coronavirus got underway at Tsz Wan Shan on Tuesday with the distribution of kits at a public housing estate in the area which has become a hotspot of Covid infections, but many people who queued up expressed concern that the government action comes too late.

Officials announced on Monday that the Home Affairs Department and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals will be working together to provide free Covid-19 test kits for residents at the Tsz Ching Estate and other nearby public housing estates.

Long lines of people were seen waiting for test kits from 8am on Tuesday, but some residents told RTHK that the government's actions come too late as the Tsz Wan Shan outbreak occurred weeks ago.

One man, surnamed Cheng, said that if the free tests had been arranged earlier, then residents would have felt more at ease.

He said he had gone to the accident and emergency department of a hospital after feeling shortness of breath.

Another woman, surnamed Lee, told RTHK that when the Tsz Wan Shan outbreak began, she went to get tested at a private clinic twice. But she was waiting for the kit on Tuesday to get tested again.

Lee said she was now too afraid to go to the market as cases continued to surge in the area.

Another resident said that some companies have been requiring their employees living in the estate to get tested, but as there have been delays, some people have been unable to work for days.

Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui said that he expected the Tsz Wan Shan tests to be done in two weeks, and that about 40,000 residents will be covered under the scheme.

Over the past weeks, Tsz Wan Shan has become a hotspot of Hong Kong's third wave of coronavirus infections.

From an initial outbreak at a home for the elderly, the contagion quickly spread to restaurants, shops, and public housing estates.