Hong Kong lockdown: 10,000 confined for massive Covid-19 testing operation in Yau Tsim Mong, as fleeing residents prompt implementation review
- Government declares lockdown of an estimated 200 buildings in area of Yau Tsim Mong spanning nearly 500,000 sq ft
- About 3,000 civil servants including police and other disciplined services officers are expected to be deployed for the unprecedented screening operation
Hong Kong placed 10,000 residents in one of its most crowded districts under Covid-19 lockdown on Saturday, as the city leader said officials would investigate how to avoid a repeat of people fleeing in advance of any future confinement orders.
Officials from 4am sealed off about 200 buildings in Yau Tsim Mong district and deployed around 3,000 government workers to carry out emergency testing in a drastic bid to stem the alarming spread of Covid-19 in the city.
News of the first lockdown under legislation introduced last month was leaked ahead of its roll-out, offering residents the opportunity to escape the clutches of the city’s toughest pandemic restrictions yet.
Residents who were unwittingly outside the area when it was cut off found themselves separated from their families, before ministers ordered frontline workers to allow households to reunite.
Others left their homes to be met with police cordons and patrols, as well as their route to work or other activities blocked.
The area under lockdown, which measures nearly 500,000 sq ft and overlaps a designated mandatory-testing zone, borders Kansu Street to the north and Nanking Street in the south. The eastern and western boundaries are Woosung Street and Battery Street, respectively.