'Doctors Given No Say In Forced Covid Test Plan'

The head of the Medical Association, Dr Choi Kin, says the government should have consulted doctors before pushing ahead with a plan for mandatory Covid-19 tests, accusing the health secretary of making "threatening" remarks regarding their compliance.

Choi told RTHK on Monday that he is worried some people will be put off from visiting their doctors altogether for fear of being made to take a coronavirus test.

He said the authorities should have consulted the profession about the plan and doctors have now been left with no choice but to comply.

On Saturday, Health Secretary Sophia Chan announced that doctors will be able to order their patients to take a Covid-19 test if they show symptoms. Any patients who refuse would risk a fine of up to HK$25,000 and six months in prison.

Chan said officials will discuss the move with doctors' groups this week and while the legal framework has already been gazetted, the measure will only be rolled out in "specific circumstances" and if the participation rate for voluntary testing is low.

On RTHK's Millennium programme, Chan was asked if a doctor would bear any responsibility if he or she failed to instruct someone to take a test and their patient was later found to have the virus.

"Of course it depends on each case....but for any kind of sickness, if a doctor is found to have a problem in their professional decision, the Medical Council has an existing mechanism [to deal with that]," the secretary replied.

Choi said Chan's comment appeared to be "threatening" towards doctors.

"The law has already been rolled out, there is no way we can avoid doing that. But it seems to me that it sounds a bit threatening," he said.

Choi also urged the government to draft guidelines for doctors in relation to what specific symptoms should lead to a Covid-19 test, in order to avoid any arguments with patients.

But Dr David Lam, a member of the Medical Council, said this would not be necessary and doctors would be able to use their professional judgement to decide when a test was warranted.

Lam said he backs the move to introduce more mandatory coronavirus testing because the voluntary programmes are not proving to be so popular.

On top of those flying into Hong Kong, other groups of people who will be forced to take Covid-19 tests include those linked to outbreaks, people leaving quarantine, and people who work in occupations deemed to be "high-risk".