Covid Testing For Dance Cluster Before Deadline

People who are linked to the dance Covid-19 cluster have been rushing to government facilities to get tested, trying to beat Tuesday's deadline.

There were long queues at the Henry G. Leong Yaumatei Community Centre – one of the four government testing facilities – on Monday, and some of those there said they had recently been to one of 14 dance clubs which were linked to recent Covid infections.

The government is requiring anyone who had been to the dance clubs between the start of this month and Saturday to get tested by Tuesday, or face a fine of HK$2,000. They risk prosecution and a jail sentence if they fail to meet the deadline.

One man who recently visited one of the 14 venues said he waited nearly two hours this morning before being allowed in for a test.

Another man complained that there weren't enough testing centres around the city, adding that the current arrangement isn't convenient for working people like him.

He said he was given a testing kit, but said he would have to come back on Tuesday to return his specimen sample.

"This is very bad. If you want people to get tested, why don't you open a few more testing centres? There were a lot of centres when the government rolled out the mass testing scheme. How come there are so few now? Workers like us have to come here all of a sudden, only to find that there are too many people here, and now I have to go to work and I'll have to come back tomorrow."

A man surnamed Fong said he had also danced at one of the 14 studios, but has not done so in the past two weeks.

He said he would continue to dance if he and his partner both tested negative, adding that he would wear a mask during lessons.

A woman surnamed Yip, who had been to one of the 14 listed dance clubs in Tsim Sha Tsui on November 14, said there weren’t many people that night. But she said club staff made sure that they were wearing their masks. She said she’s not worried about getting infected, adding that she came to get tested because of a sense of duty.

Another woman, who's a dancer herself, said while she had not been to one of the dance clubs, she came to get tested for everyone's peace of mind.