‘I have waited 12 days’: slow coronavirus test results frustrate Hong Kong residents stuck at home
- Mother-of-two Mavis Li says she has called multiple hotlines to inquire about test results for her eldest child and herself, with no success
- Stuck at home since February 9, NGO employee Alice Lee is unable to return to office until she gets negative result
Complaints about prolonged waiting time for Covid-19 test results in Hong Kong continued to mount on Thursday, with one resident telling the Post that it had been 12 days since she was screened.
Long queues had formed outside testing stations in recent weeks, with some in line under compulsory orders to be screened as the city found itself in the thick of a raging fifth wave of coronavirus infections.
Mavis Li, a 47-year-old mother-of-two, said she was still waiting to receive her test results on Thursday after she and her eldest child had their nasal and throat swab samples taken at a mobile specimen collection station at Kai Tak East Playground on February 5.
“I have waited for 12 days. If I do have the virus, I would have recovered by now,” she said. “I don’t know whether I should even chase after the result.”
They went to the test centre after receiving a notification message from their “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app. The family has also avoided going out after submitting their samples.
“At first I was worried that I might have been infected, so I kept away from my children,” she said. “But as time passed, we never developed any symptoms, so I am more worried about the infection risks in the community now.”