'Steps Needed To Detect Virus Transmission Links'

Infectious disease specialist Joseph Tsang on Friday urged the authorities to take more steps to identify unknown chains of coronavirus transmissions in Hong Kong.

Tsang said there’s a need to step up these efforts as the number of cases recorded daily is still in high numbers.

He noted a lot of new cases cannot be traced, which means there are unidentified chains of infection in the community.

The government could consider introducing mobile apps that record history of people’s movement, as this could be helpful in identifying clusters sooner rather than later, he said.

A media report had said that the government is planning to invite tenders to develop such a “notification system”.

The report also said the government is hoping to introduce the app within this month, and will test it out in taxis, hospitals, and government offices.

Tsang also warned against a “health code system” proposed by some politicians, which will allow people who tested negative for Covid-19 to go about in the city more freely.

The idea was floated by the pro-government Business and Professionals Alliance, which said “healthy” residents should be allowed to dine in at restaurants, visit malls and other public places at any time.

Tsang said a better approach would be to give a code for high-risk groups, such as workers at wet markets, restaurants, public transport or beauty salons and gyms.

And the code should be renewed every five to seven days upon new tests, instead of 14 days as proposed by the alliance, to match the coronavirus’ incubation period, he said.