Shorter Quarantine For Elderly Care Home Residents

The government is changing the quarantine arrangements for elderly home residents, amid rising Covid-19 cases and a lack of isolation facilities.

The quarantine period for care home residents and staff has been shortened by a week to seven days.

Residents will need to undergo two more rapid tests when they return to the care homes.

And if only home staff are infected, residents who are not considered to be close contacts do not have to go into quarantine.

Welfare secretary Law Chi-kwong said on Sunday the changes are needed, or isolation beds will run out quickly.

He said on his blog that once there are enough supplies for rapid test kits, care home workers will be required to be tested every day before they go to work, instead of once every three days.

The welfare sector lawmaker, Tik Chi-yuen, says more information is needed on the tests.

"The instructions are still not very clear, so I find most of our staff feel hesitation," Tik said.

"I think it is just a message from the blog without any guidelines or instructions from the government... Whether the tests justify the situation and whether the organisation has the equipment to manage the instructions from the departments, so all is not clear."

______________________________