Coronavirus: Covid patients head for exits as Hong Kong ends mandatory isolation, but shuttle bus drivers worry about infection risks

Dozens of patients took shuttle buses from the Penny’s Bay isolation centre on Lantau Island to a drop-off point at Tsing Yi MTR station in the morning, with hundreds allowed to leave the camp after midnight when one of the city’s last remaining pandemic control measures ended after three years.

“There are very few people in the isolation centre now,” said Aini R, a 29-year-old Indonesian domestic helper, who was the only passenger on her shuttle bus. She received her second negative result in the morning and left the facility.

“I feel very happy I can leave the centre because I have stayed there for too long. I even felt scared at night since it was too cold and quiet,” she said, adding that she was not notified of the new policy in the camp.

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Eerie silence falls on Hong Kong's Covid camps as city prepares to end mandatory isolation

Eerie silence falls on Hong Kong's Covid camps as city prepares to end mandatory isolation

Apple Lo, a 60-year-old retiree, decided to go home after two days of isolation even though he was still testing positive.