'Rebound Possible If Queues Deter People From Tests'

An infectious disease expert is warning of a possible rebound in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong as people rush to get tested ahead of Thursday's relaxation of some social distancing measures.

Workers from different industries have been snapping up bookings at community testing centres across the territory, hoping to get their tests done before various establishments are allowed to reopen.

They have been given until February 25 to take the tests.

Dr Leung Chi-chiu, a specialist in respiratory medicine, expressed concern that people who really need to get tested will not be able to do so because the testing slots are all taken up.

"Those who have symptoms and those who may have exposure risks might not be able to get either a bottle for deep-throat saliva test or they have to queue for a very long time for testing. This will remove their motivation for testing," he said.

"With the decrease in testing over the Chinese New Year and with the family gatherings and other gatherings in shopping malls and other public places, it is expected that there may be transmissions... Unless those with symptoms and those with exposure risks can be tested within these few days, these infection sources will seek transmission links when our workplaces reopen."

Leung said there will also be additional risks when restaurants operate for longer hours and businesses such as gyms and cinemas reopen from Thursday.

He said the current capacity of between 20,000 and 30,000 tests per day is not enough to cater for the large number of people who need to be tested before they can return to work.

He urged authorities to rethink their testing arrangements for workers, allowing people to take test bottles and hand in samples at their workplaces, with the bottles to be collected by designated teams.

Meanwhile, a company that runs five of Hong Kong's 19 community testing centres said each site tested 2,000 people a day over the past two days, twice the usual number.

Chris Wong from the Hong Kong Molecular Pathology Diagnostic Centre said quotas are limited by the number of testing stations that can be set up in the centres, rather than laboratory capacity.