Coronavirus: Cathay Pacific pilot’s infection sparks testing frenzy in Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay
- Compulsory testing order forces people who were in locations visited by the 57-year-old pilot to undergo screening
- Decision to send 120 children into quarantine triggers anger among parents, who accuse authorities of lacking empathy
Three testing booths were set up to cater for residents subject to a compulsory testing notice imposed by the government on those who might have come into contact with the Cathay Pacific pilot, who was exempt from quarantine after returning to the city from Germany.
Under the screening order, anyone who has visited the same locations as the cargo pilot at specified times must submit to testing.
Those places include the Cali-Mex Bar & Grill in Siena Avenue and buses serving a route between Discovery Bay Plaza and Tung Chung railway station, as well as the town’s pier and Discovery Bay International School, where the pilot’s wife worked and his two children studied.
He was one of two pilots confirmed as infected on Wednesday after returning to Hong Kong from Frankfurt on November 6. The other pilot lives in Tsim Sha Tsui. Both were exempted from quarantine on arrival by virtue of their jobs.
Some of those queuing to get tested complained of what they described as risky behaviour in the neighbourhood.
“Many passengers on the ferry [between Central and Discovery Bay] don’t wear their masks properly,” said a female resident surnamed Lee. “They just put masks around their necks and even eat on the ferry. I’ve seen it every day.”
She added the testing requirements were necessary and reasonable.