Kwok Ka-ki: Govt Took Too Long With Testing Centres

Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki blamed what he called chaos at the airport on the government's delays setting up coronavirus testing centres for people flying back to Hong Kong.

Kwok said the government announced compulsory quarantine measures on Sunday - which took effect on Thursday - so it had five days to set up testing centres.

"Why didn't they do it on Sunday? You know it doesn't make sense at all," Kwok said.

From Friday, anyone arriving in Hong Kong with upper respiratory tract symptoms will be sent to a temporary test centre at either AsiaWorld-Expo or the North Lantau Hospital, where they will test for the Covid-19 virus and await the results. Both locations are close to Hong Kong International Airport.

The Hospital Authority said the process was expected to take about half a day and that waiting areas and arrangements would meet infection control standards. It also said internet facilities would be available.

However, Kwok criticised the time taken, saying one parent had complained that her son was forced to wait at the airport for 18 hours because there were insufficient hospital rooms for testing.