Unvaccinated students who refuse Covid-19 tests will not get dormitory rooms at Chinese University of Hong Kong

The school says dormitory residents who have not been inoculated must undergo regular screening and pay for it themselves

Student body slams rule as ‘unreasonable’, while most other universities in Hong Kong do not require mandatory testing

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Students and employees of Chinese University on the Sha Tin campus. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 8:08pm, 13 May 2021Updated: 12:49pm, 14 May 2021

A Hong Kong university has said it will refuse to provide accommodation to unvaccinated students who do not undergo regular Covid-19 screening.

Chinese University said on Thursday that dormitory residents who had not been inoculated must undergo coronavirus screening every two weeks and pay for the procedure themselves, but fully vaccinated students would be exempt from the requirement.

More than half of the university’s 17,600 undergraduates live in dormitories.

In Hong Kong, certified Covid-19 tests cost HK$240 (US$31) at community testing centres.

“Vaccination is an effective way to reduce the risk of infection and prevent the spread of the virus,” a university spokeswoman said.

“The university strongly calls on all students who plan to live in its dormitories to take the Covid-19 vaccine … Those who are not vaccinated and do not comply with regular Covid-19 testing will not be allocated a place.”