Laguna City Lockdown Meets Mixed Resident Response

Residents of two buildings in Lam Tin that were locked down overnight say the arrangement was a mess and an "unnecessary" exercise, but some say it gave them peace of mind knowing that no Covid-19 cases were found.

More than 400 people living at two blocks in the private housing estate, Laguna City, were tested in the "ambush-style" operation.

One of them, a Ms Wong, said no one told her what she was supposed to do until someone knocked on her door at 1am.

She also complained that she wasn't notified of her result before she learnt from the news at 8am that no cases were found in the two buildings.

"They have the result and inform the media. But I'm a resident and I haven't received the result," she said.

A man surnamed Kay, a clerk, said the lockdown was annoying and unnecessary as residents were already tested last week.

"It's really annoying. One week ago we already had the negative result. Now we need to test again so suddenly. Fortunately, I don't need to work today but so many people will be affected," he said.

Another resident surnamed Li said he came down with the coronavirus last month and has since recovered, but he was asked to get tested again.

However, he supported the lockdown and the mass testing, saying he believed it could effectively detect silent virus carriers.

Another man, surnamed Cheung, who works in the education sector, said the mandatory tests had put his mind at ease.

"No one knew whether any case would be found before the tests. Now I'm relieved," he said.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung had said on Sunday that more lockdowns would be coming soon, despite the mixed response to such exercises.