Hong Kong’s demise depend has risen to 75 from simply seven initially of July. (File)
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong will provide a free coronavirus check to all 7.5 million residents subsequent month, the town’s chief stated Friday, however it was unclear what number of would participate within the scheme run by firms primarily based in mainland China.
Initially a poster baby of the pandemic, Hong Kong has seen a 3rd wave of virus circumstances — blamed on exemptions from quarantine guidelines for air and ship crews, and a few enterprise travellers.
Carrie Lam, the finance hub’s chief, introduced that voluntary mass-testing would begin on September 1 and go on for 2 weeks.
“There may be nonetheless fairly a lot of silent transmitters locally,” she stated.
“So the extra that we may check… the sooner we may discover the remaining excellent circumstances,” she added, interesting to residents to participate.
Well being minister Sophia Chan had beforehand instructed a radio present she hoped 5 million folks would take part.
However Lam on Friday stated the federal government has set “no targets” for the scheme that will likely be performed by Hong Kong subsidiaries of three mainland corporations, together with Chinese language genomics agency BGI Group.
Many Hong Kongers stay deeply suspicious of Beijing because it stamps down on political freedoms, together with imposing a sweeping new safety legislation on the town final month.
Biometric surveillance, together with DNA, types a core a part of the authoritarian mainland’s huge surveillance state.
Hong Kong opposition figures have expressed fears that virus testing by mainland officers may assist Beijing harvest Hong Kongers’ DNA.
The town’s authorities had dismissed these options as unfounded rumours.
Greater than three,300 new COVID-19 infections have been detected in Hong Kong since July — greater than 70 p.c of the overall because the illness first hit the town in late January.
The demise depend has risen to 75 from simply seven initially of July.
The variety of each day circumstances is now dwindling after distancing measures have been reimposed, however there are nonetheless a number of infections every day with no clear supply.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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