By The SUN
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| More than 1,000 residents were evacuated from a housing block in Caribbean Coast |
In a major shift in its
pandemic response, the government announced Friday that it would no longer impose
a 21-day quarantine for residents of entire housing blocks where Covid infections
involving mutant strains are found.
If they test negative
following a lockdown they can remain in their homes, but must comply with more
mandatory testing afterwards.
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The move follows accusations that the government had overreacted to the discovery of coronavirus
variants within the community.
Much of the criticism came from hundreds of people told to move to quarantine facilities as soon as a single case of a variant infection was found in their housing blocks.
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| Lam says the policy shift was made after assessing the latest situation |
Controller of the Centre for Health Protection, Ronald Lam, said at the press conference officials had decided to release the residents early after reviewing the latest situation.
He said people evacuated from
Parkes Building where an Indian returnee from Dubai found to have the South
African variant had lived would soon complete their 21-day quarantine and none
of them has been found to carry the virus.
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Following this, thousands
more people were moved to quarantine centers after a string of variant carriers
were found.
They included residents of a
block in Caribbean Coast in Tung Chung, Kennedy Heights in Mid-Levels, Beauty Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui, Allway
Gardens in Tsuen Wan, Kornhill Garden in Quarry Bay, and Royalton in Pokfulam.
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Also moved were nearly 80 Filipinos who belong to the choir of St Thomas the Apostle church in Tsing Yi, where the helper from Tung Chung was also a member.
But apart from the female employer of the Tung Chung patient, no infection has been found so far from among those moved to quarantine camps..
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Lam deflected criticism of an overreaction, saying officials could not find the source of the infections at first. But the concern eased after seven of the most recent cases were all linked to the Indian returnee from Dubai.
“We had to adopt the most
prudent approach and most stringent measures,” he said.
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“This is not only for the
health of the residents, but also to prevent further transmission within the
community. So this is definitely not an overreaction but a very cautious
approach to protect the health of Hong Kong.”
Under the new rules, those already
sent to quarantine camps for 21 days, including more than a thousand people from
Tower 11 of Caribbean Coast, will be tested again. They can go home if they obtain a negative test result, but will continue taking a series of Covid tests afterwards.
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| Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love. |
The amended rules were mostly
a nod to residents who have been fully vaccinated.
If they are deemed as close
contacts of coronavirus patients with variants they can leave quarantine after
14 days if they are fully vaccinated, instead of the current 21 days. But they
will still have to undergo mandatory tests after their return home.
If they are linked to
infected patients who do not have the mutant strains, their quarantine period
will go down to 7 days from the current 14.
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| Chan says only those returning from high risk countries will still be subject to 21-day quarantine |
Those coming from low-risk
countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, will be required to
undergo quarantine at a hotel for seven days, instead of 14, but they must have
one more Covid test afterwards.
The quarantine period for those
arriving from medium-risk places will be cut to 14 days from 21.
But the quarantine rules for
those who fly in from high-risk countries such as the United Kingdom and
Ireland will remain unchanged.
People in countries currently
designated as “extremely high risk” such as the Philippines, India, Pakistan,
Nepal, South Africa and Brazil are still barred from flying to Hong Kong
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