Hong Kong fourth wave: sewage tests for coronavirus to be expanded, aim for ‘gold standard’
- Pilot scheme by HKU experts helped uncover nine infections in two blocks
- Mandatory testing will be triggered if sewage checks reveal two consecutive positive results or two positives over three days
A pilot scheme to check sewage in Hong Kong for the presence of the coronavirus will have its screening capacity doubled, after successfully uncovering hidden carriers in two housing blocks.
A team of experts at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has also finalised a standard operating procedure to trigger mandatory testing of all residents in a block if sewage checks reveal two consecutive positive results or two positive results over three days.
“It is an additional tool to detect silent transmissions in our community,” said the dean of HKU’s faculty of medicine, Professor Gabriel Leung, who gave public health advice to the team.
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The pilot scheme developed by a team from HKU’s department of civil engineering and medical faculty, with official support from various government departments, collected more than 300 samples from pipes and manholes across the city,
Mandatory testing was carried out last month for all residents and recent visitors to Fung Chak House and Kai Fai House in Choi Wan (II) estate in Choi Hung, after consecutive sewage samples tested positive for the coronavirus.
Five people in Fung Chak House and a sixth person from Kai Fai House tested positive for Covid-19.
On Wednesday, the authorities ordered a second round of mandatory testing at Fung Chak House, after consecutive sewage samples from the block showed the presence of the coronavirus. So far, four more residents tested positive for Covid-19.