Mandatory Testing For Covid-hit Helpers' Dorm

Health officials on Tuesday issued a mandatory coronavirus testing order for anyone who has been to a boarding house for foreign domestic helpers in Tai Po in the past month as a Covid-19 outbreak there took a turn for the worse.

Six more foreign domestic helpers who were at the dormitory in Fung Nin House have come down with the disease, raising the total number of helpers infected there to eight.

A family of four, whom one of the infected helpers works for, have also been confirmed with the infection, including a six-month-old baby.

More than 30 close contacts have been sent to quarantine centres, including some of the families the helpers work for.

But Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said officials were not sure if they have tracked down everyone who have visited the boarding house.

“We’re worried that the outbreak of the boarding house in Tai Po may affect more families throughout the territory. That’s why we’re issuing a compulsory testing notice even though we have a list of visitors, we’re not sure whether that is comprehensive. We’re not sure how long this transmission has occurred, that’s why we’re asking those who have visited since a month ago to come forward for testing,” she said.

Health authorities reported 98 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.

Eight-nine infections are locally acquired, 30 via unidentified sources.

Residents of two more public housing blocks, Tat Yi House in Kwun Tong and Ming Lai House in Wong Tai Sin, are required to undergo mandatory testing after infections were reported from four units in each building recently.

More than 70 people have tested preliminary positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority reported two more coronavirus deaths.

A 79-year-old patient has passed away after he was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Monday, and a 64-year-old female patient died at Eastern Hospital.

Hong Kong has reported 122 deaths related to Covid-19 so far.

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