Residents wearing face masks wait in to take COVID-19 tests in Cheung Sha Wan, Hong Kong, Sept 3, 2020. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 21 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday as health officials plan to have all of the city's 7,000 inmates tested after two prisoners at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre got infected with the virus.
The imported cases included a pregnant Pakistani woman, a returning foreign domestic worker from the Philippines, and an aircraft crew mmeber returning from Russia
In a media briefing on Sunday afternoon, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's Communicable Disease Branch, said the new infections included 15 local cases and 6 imported infections, bringing the city's infection tally to 4,878.
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The imported cases included a pregnant Pakistani woman, a returning foreign domestic worker from the Philippines, and an aircraft crew member returning from Russia, she said.
Of the 15 local cases, eight were linked to previous infections while seven were of unknown origin, she added.
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Chuang said two inmates at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre also tested positive for the coronavirus.
“We will be liaising with the Security Bureau to arrange a one-off testing for all persons in custody involving 7,000 people, all prisoners in Hong Kong,” she said.
“We hope detect some asymptomatic transmission,” she added.
According to the Hospital Authority, a 69-year-old female patient infected with the virus died at the Kwong Wah hospital on Saturday evening, bringing the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 to 94.
It added that there were still 224 patients hospitalized, including 22 in critical condition.
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Meanwhile, senior officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Sunday that the health code system will be introduced once the epidemic is brought under control to facilitate travels and economic activities in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung Cheung (second right) receives a briefing on the testing workflow during a visit at Queen Elizabeth Stadium community testing center in Wan Chai on September 2, 2020. Looking on is Director of General Grades of the Civil Service Bureau Hermes Chan (fourth right). (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)
In response to some district council members' motions to permanently shelve the ongoing Universal Community Testing Program (UCTP) and the health code system, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the act was clearly putting politics over the public health.
The UCTP was launched on Sept 1 and by 9 am Sunday, over 1.08 million residents have registered and about 864,000 have received the test.
Cheung said after considering the operation and the public's needs, the one-week program has been extended for four days to Sept 11, and another three days if necessary.
Over 600,000 residents have taken the test and some asymptomatic cases identified, which greatly reduced infection risks in communities and likelihood of a resurgence once the economy restarts, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in a blog article published on his official website.
Both Cheung and Chan pointed out the importance of innovation and technology to the COVID-19 fight and the post-epidemic development.
Cheung said the application of information and communication technology has played an extremely important role in helping all trades and industries to create a way out, survive the epidemic and turn crises into opportunities.
Chan said innovation and technology are important to Hong Kong's future economy and the overall social interests, adding that the HKSAR government will continue to invest resources, firmly promote the development of science and technology, and strive to create more space for Hong Kong's economy.
With inputs from Xinhua
