Sample Collection For Mass Virus Tests Gets Underway

Sample collection for the government’s mass coronavirus testing programme got underway on Tuesday with people lining up at collection centres set up across the city.

Some pan-democratic figures had called for a boycott of the tests conducted with the help of a mainland team, and health experts gave a divided opinion about the effectiveness of the exercise.

Government officials, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, had condemned these criticisms as "politically motivated smearing" and urged the public to take the tests, saying it is essential to identify asymptomatic carriers.

Government figures showed 590,000 people have signed up for the tests as of Tuesday morning. Of the 141 centres opened across the territory, 97 were fully booked for the opening day while at least 14 were fully booked for the rest of the week.

A short queue was seen at Quarry Bay community complex by 8am for providing throat and nose swabs.

A man surnamed Tse, who lives nearby, was in the line with his wife and his domestic helper. He believed the test can secure his family’s health.

"The government has arranged the testing free of charge. We have to come here as a citizen, to check whether if we have been infected or not so that we feel comfortable ourselves and for the others," he said.

Outside Sheung Tak Community Centre in Tseung Kwan O, a woman surnamed Wong said she arranged for her sample to be taken at 8am.

She said she's not worried about getting infected at the centre, or about her personal information being leaked, and said she was taking the test to feel more at ease.

The specimen collection is expected to last for one to two weeks and the government has not set any target number. But a health adviser for the Carrie Lam administration had said that he hopes four million people will take the test.

But some people have decided to stay away, despite appeals from health experts and government officials to join the voluntary testing.

"I think it's a waste of time," a woman named Emily Li said. "The government can't convince me in terms of the effectiveness of the testing programme."

A caller to an RTHK phone-in programme said she’s very disappointed at the government.

She said the SAR government clearly has no idea how to go about with the tests, pointing out that it had at first considered letting people collect specimen at home themselves, and only realised this could not yield results later on, before finally switching to setting up testing centres.

She said the government’s failed to be a good gatekeeper, as it is still giving exemption to some people to enter Hong Kong without being tested in advance.

Another caller, surnamed Cheng, said he had undergone the test and it went smoothly.

He said he sneezed a few times when the nasal swab was being done because he has nose allergy, but there was no discomfort otherwise.

He said the whole procedure took less than five minutes, and praised medical workers for their professionalism.

Cheng also told the programme that he was given a pack of masks for free after the test was completed. (RTHK, AFP)