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| CE Lam says invisible carriers must be detected so they will not infect family and friends |
Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her top officials were among those
who got tested for Covid-19 early today, Sept 1, as the Universal Community
Testing for residents got underway.
CE Lam said afterwards that about 10,000 had themselves
tested in the first two hours of the exercise.
She again appealed to the public to take part in the
exercise, saying it will help ensure that they, along with their family members
and people they interact with regularly, are free from infection.
“My appeal has always been for as many citizens to come
forward for themselves, their family, their relatives and their co-workers,”
she said.
She reiterated that universal testing was devised to track
asymptomatic carriers who are responsible for about a quarter of new infections
with no known source.
"Can you imagine if someone is infected but asymptomatic, that person would not go to a doctor, and if that person does not go for testing, then he or she will be spreading the virus among his friends and family. If that is the case, then we won't be able to contain the covid situation," she said.
"Family and friends might be infected and might even end up in a serious condition, so I ask the general public again, see this program in a fair and objective light."
Speaking before her weekly Executive Council meeting, the chief
executive also allayed fears about the test being painful, saying she felt safe
doing it, and that the process was simple and convenient.
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| The probes used for the throat and nose swabs - it's not painful says the CE |
“The testing is not as difficult and painful as they
imagined,” she assured.
Lam used her address to rebut arguments made by the Hospital
Authority Employees Alliance, which called on the public to boycott the testing
scheme, saying it is useless without a lockdown.
The critics also questioned the safety of doing the tests in
populous areas, where most of the 141 testing centres spread across 18
districts, are located.
Lam said Hong Kong people
would not want a lockdown as they want to continue enjoying freedom of
movement. She also pointed out that the borders are closed to non-residents,
but remain open to citizens who are abroad and want to come back.
As for the location of the testing centres, Lam said it was
important that they were in accessible areas so more people would be encouraged
to take part.
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Nearly 600,000 have reportedly signed up so far for the
voluntary free testing, which will run until Sept 7, and could be extended for
another week depending on demand.
Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said that as of
8am this morning, 99 of the 141 testing centres have been fully booked for just the day, and
14 centres are currently fully booked for the next seven days.
However, a random check by The SUN of two testing centres on both sides of the harbour showed no queue outside, allowing those with an appointment for a later date to be tested right on the spot.
However, a random check by The SUN of two testing centres on both sides of the harbour showed no queue outside, allowing those with an appointment for a later date to be tested right on the spot.
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