Six Positive Results In Universal Covid Testing

The government said on Thursday six people who took part in its universal voluntary testing scheme have tested positive for Covid-19 as it dismissed suggestions the small number reflected poorly on the ongoing programme.

These were the first positive results since the scheme began on Tuesday.

Four of those who tested positive were previously confirmed patients. The Centre for Health Protection's Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said they were asymptomatic.

"Three of them wanted to know the present status so they attended the testing, and the other one would need to have a negative test before (the person) can return to work," Chuang said.

The four were discharged from hospital in August.

Chuang said they don't need further treatment because they have Covid-19 antibodies.

"When they were discharged they had antibodies, the Ct values ranging from 27 to 36, so they might not be infectious, but they might carry the virus for some time after discharge," she said.

The other two people who tested positive – a 63-year-old man who lives in Kwai Tsing and a 22-year-old woman who lives in Tuen Mun – will be listed as new confirmed cases.

According to the government, as of 8pm on Thursday, some 880,000 people had signed up for the universal testing scheme, and samples of about 470,000 people had been taken.

Testing had been completed of 138,000 samples as of 8pm on Thursday.

The Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, said it was still too soon to say if the rate of infection so far is high or not.

"Until we finish the entire programme, that would be very difficult to make any interpretation on the positive rate of the entire programme. Nevertheless, I think it's useful, because the scheme has picked up positive cases, and such measures will help reduce the risk of community transmission in Hong Kong," she said.

A top microbiologist of the University of Hong Kong, Yuen Kwok-yung, also played down concerns that only a small number of coronavirus carriers have been identified so far through universal testing. He said the figure is “expected”.

Speaking after a visit to a sample collection centre, the expert insisted the scheme is useful in trying to identify silent carriers in the community and urged people to make use of the free tests.

Meanwhile, the CHP reported eight new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, of which there was one imported case.

Three of the new local cases were linked to previous patients, and included one more carer at the Hong Chi Lei Muk Shue Hostel, bringing the total number of patients in that cluster to 21 – comprising seven carers and 14 residents.

Four cases had no known source of transmission. Among them was a 63-year-old woman who had passed away. Chuang said that the woman lived alone in Shek Kip Mei Estate and was found dead on Sunday.

Her body was sent to a public mortuary, and during a postmortem she was found to have contracted coronavirus based on a lung tissue sample.

Chuang said the woman often ate at Chinese restaurants in Sham Shui Po, but there was no particular risk factor.

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