Testing on travellers enhanced

April 7, 2020

The Department of Health will strengthen health quarantine and COVID-19 testing arrangements for all inbound travellers from April 8.

 

Under the Prevention & Control of Disease Regulation, all asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport will be required to have their deep throat saliva samples taken at the Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at AsiaWorld-Expo for COVID-19 testing.

 

After their samples have been collected, they will have to go to their accommodation for compulsory quarantine as soon as possible by their own means.

 

Taking reference from the testing arrangements for Peru returnees by chartered flights, the department said that letting travellers from places with higher risk wait for test results at the Specimen Collection Centre can efficiently identify patients with the virus and help in arranging their close contacts to be sent to quarantine centres.

 

As 248 of the 359 imported cases recorded in the past 14 days involved people who had been to the UK, the department has decided to adopt this testing arrangement for inbound travellers from the country starting April 9.

 

Starting April 8, the Enhanced Laboratory Surveillance Programme will also be further extended to inbound travellers who have been to Hubei Province in the past 14 days arriving through Shenzhen Bay Port and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port.

 

These travellers are required to collect their deep throat saliva samples by themselves when undergoing compulsory home quarantine, and to have their family members or friends deliver it to collection points.

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