Quarantine arrangements explained

March 17, 2020

Chief Executive Carrie Lam:

We will be seeing more people who require compulsory quarantine or medical surveillance. So I have said that we have very limited quarantine centres. Basically, now there’re about maybe 1,600 (places) including the three blocks in Chun Yeung Estate. So with these very limited quarantine facilities, we have taken the view that they should be reserved for the high-risk cases.

So who are the high-risk cases? One is the close contacts of confirmed cases and - you don’t know, I don’t have a crystal ball - sometimes one confirmed case could give rise to 100 close-contact cases. So we have to reserve that capacity for the high-risk cases.

Secondly, from time to time, we have unforeseen incidents like this Tai Po Fu Heng Estate, Heng Tai House. It was an unforeseeable incident that suddenly we needed to evacuate (the residents) and put them into a quarantine centre because they were also high risk cases.

So from now on, I would say, the majority of arrivals in Hong Kong will be put under home quarantine or medical surveillance of some form.

So your question then is how can we assure that there will be good compliance for the home quarantine cases. We will do our best in terms of the monitoring, surveillance, telephone calls, WhatsApp location services and spot checks. But at the end of the day, because of the large numbers involved, right now we already have over 20,000 active home quarantine cases, we are expecting more. So I am appealing to individuals who are being put under home quarantine to have self-discipline, to observe the rules and requirements and protect themselves and their family members and ultimately, of course, protect Hong Kong from a major outbreak.

Since we have been doing quite well in the last two months, we really should preserve the results that we have made through joint efforts. We will increase our staffing at various levels. I have asked for more civil servants, to be sort of enlisted, to join this anti-epidemic work both at the airport and in the various back offices to support the home quarantine work.

(To watch the whole media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Quarantine facilities should be reserved for high-risk cases of COVID-19, while most travellers arriving in Hong Kong will be placed under 14-day home quarantine or medical surveillance.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks ahead of today’s Executive Council meeting, noting that more people will require compulsory quarantine or medical surveillance.

“I have said that we have very limited quarantine centres. Basically, now there’re about maybe 1,600 (places) including the three blocks in Chun Yeung Estate. So with these very limited quarantine facilities, we have taken the view that they should be reserved for the high-risk cases.

“So who are the high-risk cases? One is the close contacts of confirmed cases and - you don’t know, I don’t have a crystal ball - sometimes one confirmed case could give rise to 100 close-contact cases. So we have to reserve that capacity for the high-risk cases.

“Secondly, from time to time, we have unforeseen incidents like this Tai Po Fu Heng Estate, Heng Tai House. It was an unforeseeable incident that suddenly we needed to evacuate (the residents) and put them into a quarantine centre because they were also high risk cases.

“So from now on, I would say, the majority of arrivals in Hong Kong will be put under home quarantine or medical surveillance of some form.”

While Mrs Lam emphasised that the Government will work to ensure people comply with quarantine rules, she called on those under home quarantine to exercise self-discipline.

“We will do our best in terms of the monitoring, surveillance, telephone calls, WhatsApp location services and spot checks.

“But at the end of the day, because of the large numbers involved, right now we already have over 20,000 active home quarantine cases, we are expecting more.

“So I am appealing to individuals who are being put under home quarantine to have self-discipline, to observe the rules and requirements and protect themselves and their family members and ultimately, of course, protect Hong Kong from a major outbreak.”

Mrs Lam explained that Hong Kong has been doing quite well with combating the virus in the last two months and should preserve the results that the city has made through joint efforts.

“We will increase our staffing at various levels. I have asked for more civil servants, to be sort of enlisted, to join this anti-epidemic work both at the airport and in the various back offices to support the home quarantine work.”