ExclusiveCoronavirus: Hong Kong lawyers, lawmakers flag hygiene issues at detention centre, but Immigration says health measures in place
- Legal team says asylum seekers complained about rats, cleanliness at Tuen Mun centre
- Disinfection, temperature checks, Covid-19 testing being done there, department says
But the Immigration Department has brushed aside their complaints, saying the health and safety of staff and detainees at its Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre (CIC) are a prime concern, and appropriate measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of infectious disease.
The Department of Health said it was in contact with the Immigration Department, and the centre would monitor the detainees. “If any show symptoms of Covid-19, they will be sent to public hospitals,” its spokesman said on Saturday.
Opened in 2005, the high-rise centre in Tuen Mun can hold 400 detainees, but it is not known how many live there now.
Lawyer Karen McClellan said she became worried after a legal team from Daly and Associates, where she works, visited the centre a number of times over the past month or so.
“There were reports of rats in the premises, malfunctioning toilets, a lack of bleach for disinfection, no access or insufficient access to soap and hand sanitisers,” she said.