Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s once-bustling Yau Tsim Mong district now quiet under mandatory testing order, but fears of infection are nothing new for many residents
- A large swathe of Yau Tsim Mong district has been ordered to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing after an outbreak in crowded tenements there
- But some residents say they have been taking extra precautions all along given what they see as the inherent risks of living in the neighbourhood
But, like some of her neighbours on Nanking Street, this was not the first test she had taken. Indeed, starting long before the government’s testing order, she and her family had taken several, motivated by concerns over what they saw as the heightened infection risks inherent to living in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Hong Kong.
The 49-year-old former restaurant worker, who lost her job a few months ago, lives in Vico Mansion in Yau Tsim Mong, one of more than 30 residential buildings in the district whose residents are now being ordered to undergo mandatory Covid-19 tests.
Asking to be identified by only her surname, Yung said she and her two sons, aged 17 and 16, had moved into the 50-year-old building about a year ago. The building, she said, had long been plagued by hygiene problems, with dirty, cluttered corridors, and its unlocked main door making it accessible to anyone.
“Of course I’m worried living here,” she said. “The environment is messy, and anyone can access our building. We don’t know if they carry the virus or not.”