Hong Kong to offer free virus testing to whole city, says local media outlet

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong will offer free virus tests to all residents, reported local media outlet HK01 on Friday, a move that reflects the powerful boost that mainland China has provided to the city's effort to contain its outbreak.

Chief executive Carrie Lam will hold a press conference on Friday afternoon to announce a one-time free, voluntary virus test for all residents, HK01 said, citing sources it didn't identify. The initiative will start in two weeks at the earliest, said the report.

Hong Kong's rapid shift from inadequate testing capacity to being able to provide its over 7 million residents with free tests is due to the extension of help from mainland China, which sent a team from Guangdong province to the city about a week ago to aid in its worst outbreak ever.

The team vowed to boost Hong Kong's testing capacity by 20 times, setting a goal of processing 100,000 to 200,000 tests a day. But China's offer of testing help has been complicated by deep political mistrust after Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, which has already been used to target key pro-democracy activists.

The Asian financial center has been battling a fierce resurgence over the past month and its healthcare infrastructure and testing capacity has quickly come under strain, with isolation beds and wards in public hospitals nearing their limits. The death toll in Hong Kong has also jumped as the new wave infects older people compared to previous outbreaks.

The mainland-sponsored testing push has fanned suspicions that authorities will collect DNA samples from residents, as local law enforcement recently did with protesters who were arrested. The tactic is also deployed frequently by police in Xinjiang and elsewhere on the mainland.

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The Hong Kong government denied that there are plans to harvest DNA on Monday, saying that the claims are unfounded and that test samples will not be transported to the mainland.

BLOOMBERG