Starting from September 1, Hong Kong’s "Universal Community Testing Program" will be launched——
The mainland nucleic acid testing support team is in place
With the support of the central government, Hong Kong’s "Universal Community Testing Program" will be launched on September 1 to provide citizens with a free new coronavirus test. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced on August 26 that the "Fire Eye" laboratory (temporary air film laboratory) located in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park Gymnasium is ready to meet the needs of large-scale testing. At the same time, members of the mainland nucleic acid testing support team to help Hong Kong improve its testing capabilities have also been in place.
As of 0:00 on August 27, Hong Kong has reported a total of 4736 confirmed cases. Timely implementation of comprehensive community testing is an important means of fighting the epidemic, but Hong Kong’s local testing capabilities are limited and large-scale community screening cannot be carried out. At the request of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, under the overall planning and command of the central government, the National Health Commission quickly set up a mainland nucleic acid testing support team to Hong Kong to assist the Special Administrative Region government in fighting the epidemic. On August 21, all 60 members of the support team (Guangdong group) arrived in Hong Kong. On August 27, 7 advance members of the support team (Guangxi Group) set off for Hong Kong.
In the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park Gymnasium in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong Island, 16 "Fire Eye" laboratories have been built. As a large-scale and standardized nucleic acid detection platform, it consists of a set of off-white semi-cylinders, each 4 to 5 meters wide, 3 to 4 meters high, and about 10 meters long. 16 laboratories can test 100,000 samples per day. If the "three-mixed-one" or "five-mixed-one" mixed inspection method is adopted, it can increase to 300,000 to 500,000 samples per day.
On the morning of August 26, Chen Songqing, the leader of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's testing team and the permanent secretary of the Food and Health Bureau, and Yu Dewen, the leader of the Mainland Nucleic Acid Testing Support Team (Guangdong Team), inspected the laboratories and confirmed the testing procedures and other aspects. The work is going well.
The "Fire Eye" laboratory model operated by the mainland testing agency BGI has been used in many cities in the mainland and has successful experience in large-scale nucleic acid screening. In Hong Kong, it has recently passed the evaluation of the external quality assessment project of the Department of Health of the Special Administrative Region Government, which meets the requirements of providing Hong Kong with new coronavirus testing. The laboratory also meets the second-level biosafety level requirements, and has taken relevant infection control measures to ensure sanitation, properly dispose of waste, and will not emit harmful gases.
"To achieve this goal, 600 testing personnel are required to work in three shifts a day." said Cao Sujie, the front-line commander of the "Fire Eye" laboratory of BGI Hong Kong.
Chen Songqing said that the SAR government will ensure that the universal community testing program is carried out in a safe and orderly manner, and provide citizens with "willing to check and do everything" testing services.
In terms of sampling, a spokesperson for the SAR government said on the 25th that more than 5,000 Hong Kong medical personnel have signed up to participate in the work, and the SAR government will provide adequate protective equipment to personnel on duty. The SAR government has set up more than 100 sampling centers in 18 districts in Hong Kong, and sampling will be carried out in an orderly manner from September 1. The sampling inspection time is 7 days, which can be extended depending on the progress. It is understood that citizens can make an appointment online on August 29. People who test negative will receive a text message notification. If the test result is positive, the Hong Kong Department of Health will immediately follow up.
The activation of the "Fire Eye" triggered enthusiastic responses from all walks of life in Hong Kong.
"The more citizens participate in testing, the faster the chain of virus transmission can be cut off, and the faster the citizens can return to normal life." On the 27th, more than 80 Hong Kong establishment district councilors issued a joint statement supporting the SAR government's "Universal Community Testing Program."
In an open letter, the Hong Kong Guangdong Association of Societies thanked the Mainland for helping Hong Kong's fight against the epidemic, and urged members to participate actively in testing and to stop the spread of the virus through rapid investigation. The open letter also wrote: "The motherland is a strong backing for Hong Kong to overcome the epidemic and all risks. It is hoped that all sectors of Hong Kong society will unite as one, overcome the difficulties and win the battle against the epidemic as soon as possible."
"Sing Tao Daily" published a social review on the 27th, stating that with the joint efforts of the two places, Hong Kong can finally launch a large-scale testing operation. It is hoped that Hong Kong citizens will unite in fighting the epidemic.
Cai Yi, president of the Hong Kong Island Federation of All walks of life, said that recently there are still many confirmed cases in Hong Kong whose source is unknown and there is a risk of community transmission. Experts predict that the virus may become more active in autumn and winter. Therefore, Hong Kong’s epidemic prevention must race against time. With the support and assistance of the Mainland, we must work together to build an epidemic prevention and control system featuring “early detection, early isolation, and early treatment”.
Our reporter Lian Jintian