LettersSusceptible to Covid-19 quarantine: the curious case of Hong Kong’s 2,000 ‘close contacts’

The lack of a clear government definition of the term ‘close contact’ means it has come to cover a wide range, from the tens of those who have been to the same eatery as a Covid-19 case to the thousands who live in the same building

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People leave the Penny’s Bay quarantine centre on Lantau Island on May 8. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 7:25am, 12 May 2021Updated: 7:25am, 12 May 2021

The recent mandatory testing of high-risk groups for Covid-19 and quarantining of alleged close contacts have been organised by the government to identify and isolate asymptomatic Covid-19 cases in the community.

At first glance, these measures seem most appropriate for ensuring public health. Yet, the lack of finesse in their execution is glaring. Specifically, they point to the non-existent government definition of “close contact”. As a result, sweeping quarantine orders – a sanitary measure of the highest degree and supposedly reserved for close contacts of infected persons – affect the lives of thousands, at the great expense of public resources.

While the government has now fine-tuned its quarantine policy, an official definition of “close contact” is yet to be found. This lack of clarity has led to the term’s loose application, encompassing a wide range of individuals, from the tens of those who had been to the same restaurant, gym or dance studio as an identified case to the thousands of those who live in the same building.

Considering that the phrase “close contact” was defined by the government during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic, it begs the question of why the same has not been done for Covid-19, a year into the pandemic.

Given that the basic reproduction number for Covid-19 is estimated at 2.2 (one infected person can infect two others), the quarantining of over 2,000 residents from four different buildings – each with one identified Covid-19 case – seems a little excessive, even when we take into account the slightly higher transmission rate of mutant strains.