Health workers wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in Hong Kong on January 27, 2021. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

HONG KONG -  The Hong Kong government on Thursday night cordoned off a building in North Point and required its residents to undergo compulsory testing, as the city logged 39 new coronavirus cases.   

The government said in a statement that it had designated Blocks A, B, C and D of Tung Fat Building, Kam Ping Street in North Point as a “restricted area” starting at 7 pm Thursday and also required residents to stay in their premises.

The government said in a statement that it had designated Blocks A, B, C and D of Tung Fat Building, Kam Ping Street, in North Point as a “restricted area” starting at 7 pm Thursday and required residents to stay in their premises

The government added that it expected to finish the operation by 7 am Friday. 

“After risk assessment, we think it is necessary to issue a restriction-testing declaration for the 'restricted area' to confirm all persons in the 'restricted area' have undergone compulsory testing, so as to break the transmission chain in the district and dispel the worries of residents," a government spokesman was quoted as saying in the statement.

He said the government set up temporary specimen collection stations at the "restricted area" and requested persons subject to compulsory testing to get tested before 2 am Friday.

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The spokesman noted that eight confirmed COVID-19 cases and five preliminarily positive cases were recently detected in "different units and floors" of Block C of Tung Fat Building.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) inspected the building while the Department of Health issued quarantine orders to all asymptomatic residents of units 6 and 7 from the 1st floor to the 15th floor and transferred them to quarantine centers. 

 "We understand that the arrangement will cause inconvenience to the public. The government has made arrangements to carry out testing for all persons present in the 'restricted area' as soon as possible at night after most people are released from work,” the spokesman said.

This map shows the restricted area, covering Tung Fat building in North Point, Hong Kong, that was announced by the Hong Kong government on Jan 28, 2021. (SOURCE: HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Meanwhile, Thursday's new infections included 20 untraceable cases and brought the city’s overall tally to 10,321.

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All but one of new infections were locally transmitted while more than 40 people tested preliminarily positive, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing. 

The sole imported case involved a patient from South Korea who was infected with a new coronavirus variant, Chuang said.

The city also saw two more deaths due to the pandemic on Thursday. Both were male patients, aged 47 and 66, and had chronic illnesses, Hospital Authority (HA) Chief Manager Lau Ka-hin said at the same briefing.

The 47-year-old patient was brought to the Kwong Wah Hospital on December 23 last year due to shortness of breath. He was admitted to the isolation ward for treatment and later tested positive for COVID-19, the HA said in a statement. 

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It added that his condition continued to deteriorate and he eventually succumbed at 8:32 am Thursday.

On the other hand, the 66-year-old male patient was transferred to United Christian Hospital from a quarantine center on December 10. His condition continued to deteriorate and he eventually succumbed at 12:16 pm, the HA said.

The city’s tally of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 176.