Coronavirus: experts see ‘positive sign’ as 220,000 Hong Kong residents sign up for mass-testing scheme in first 11 hours of online registration

The sign-ups come as the city records 18 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, five of which have not been traced to their source, along with three fatalities

Local officials and experts say the heavily pushed testing programme will be key to tracking down hidden carriers of the virus

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With voluntary, citywide testing to begin on Tuesday, some 220,000 Hong Kong residents had signed up online by 5.45pm on Saturday, the first day of online registration. Photo: Handout

Published: 1:21pm, 29 Aug 2020Updated: 11:18pm, 29 Aug 2020

About 220,000 people in Hong Kong signed up for the city’s voluntary Covid-19 testing scheme in the first 11 hours of online registration on Saturday, with medical experts hailing the initial figures as a positive sign.

The turnout followed multiple appeals from local officials and experts, including Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who said the programme, which begins on Tuesday, could help the government gain control of the Covid-19 crisis without a need for further drastic social-distancing measures.

But leading infectious disease expert Professor Yuen Kwok-yung said even if the pandemic completely eased within the next two weeks, it would only be a “pyrrhic victory” given the death toll and economic impact, while warning the city could face a fourth wave of infections this autumn and winter.

Hong Kong recorded 18 cases on Saturday, the 11th straight day of fewer than 30 infections, bringing the official total to 4,786 confirmed cases, with 87 related deaths.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said 16 of those cases involved local transmission, with 11 traced to existing patients. Five had unknown sources of infection.

“[Because] 30 to 40 per cent of cases are coming from unknown sources, we feel the community still has hidden virus carriers. Now we have the mass-testing scheme ... If residents can seize this chance to find out about their own situation, it will help us understand … the spread of hidden virus carriers in the city,” she said.