Coronavirus: hotels not ideal for quarantine, Hong Kong government says while it extends tests on airport arrivals to AsiaWorld-Expo site
- Concern centres on air-conditioning systems and carpets in hotels, which are ‘not ideal for a quarantine environment’
- Health minister Sophia Chan says AsiaWorld-Expo near airport will be used to conduct virus tests even on arrivals without any symptoms
Hong Kong authorities have said they are not considering using hotels to quarantine travellers as such places are “not ideal”, while tests on airport arrivals will be extended even to those with no symptoms, and conducted at the AsiaWorld-Expo.
On Friday, the city recorded a new high of 48 coronavirus infections, prompting medical experts to warn that the influx of arrivals from overseas had raised the risk of another surge in Covid-19 cases, bringing the pandemic to its highest level yet in Hong Kong.
Chinese University respiratory medicine expert Professor David Hui Shu-cheong on Saturday said the government should consider using hotels for quarantine to accommodate all arrivals.
Previously, Dr Leung Chi-chiu, of the Medical Council of Hong Kong, also raised similar calls to minimise the risks of a community outbreak.
Since Thursday, all arrivals to Hong Kong have been placed under a mandatory 14-day home quarantine.
But health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the government had already set up a temporary quarantine centre at AsiaWorld-Expo to test travellers who complained of feeling unwell, and the authorities would not consider using hotels for quarantine at the moment.
“Our health experts regarded the expo as an appropriate venue, as it is very spacious and has good airflow,” she said on a radio programme.