'Fruit Market Lockdown May Not Be Needed After All'

A respiratory disease expert who earlier suggested sealing off the Yau Ma Tei fruit market and its neighbourhood says a lockdown may not be necessary after all, if enough residents there undergo Covid-19 tests.

The earlier suggestion by David Hui, who advises the government on the pandemic, would require workers at the market to stay there for up to 48 hours until all of them are tested and get the results back.

Dozens of cases have emerged in the vicinity of the wholesale fruit market, which is near an area in Yau Ma Tei and Jordan that was locked down over the weekend for mass testing.

Speaking on a radio programme on Tuesday, Hui noted more than 70 cases had been confirmed from some 20 buildings near the fruit market, adding that authorities will definitely require residents there to undergo mandatory testing.

Hui said if more than 90 percent of residents get tested, then most silent chains of transmissions could be identified, and it would no longer be necessary to put the market under lockdown.

Meanwhile, a representative of the fruit market told another radio programme that it would not be feasible to keep up to 1,000 workers there for two days.

The president of the Kowloon Fruit & Vegetable Merchants Association, Cheung Chi-cheung, said there are no beds and not enough hygiene facilities in the market, and workers "trapped" there would have no place to rest.

He also stressed that no workers at the market had tested positive for the coronavirus. and vendors are willing to undergo tests.

Cheung added that businesses may suffer major losses if they are forced to go under a lockdown, as they may not be able to keep their fruit fresh for so long.

He said if the government really were to seal off the area, he hopes it could communicate with the vendors beforehand, so they could make better preparations to limit their losses.