The Government today resumed issuing Compulsory Testing Notices (CTNs) to require relevant people who visited specified premises to undergo COVID-19 nucleic acid tests.

It made the move as Hong Kong’s testing capacity has been further enhanced recently and this would help contain transmission in the community and protect public health.

The Department of Health's (DH) Centre for Health Protection will compile the list of relevant premises based on risk assessment, including recent epidemic data such as positive cases and sewage surveillance results.

To dovetail with the measures, the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app will resume issuing CTN notifications to remind people who visited the specified premises.

Those who have tested positive in the past three months including by either nucleic acid tests recorded by the DH or rapid antigen tests (RAT) that have been self-declared to the DH, are no longer subject to further compulsory testing.

The Government stressed that a negative RAT result cannot be deemed as fulfilling the compulsory testing requirement. 

A deep throat saliva sample also cannot be used to fulfil the testing requirement unless people who are subject to compulsory testing have obtained a medical certificate proving that they are unfit to undergo testing using a sample taken through combined nasal and throat swabs because of health reasons.

People who are subject to compulsory testing may conduct free nucleic acid tests by visiting community testing centres or mobile specimen collection stations.

They can also undergo self-paid nucleic acid tests on their own arrangement at local testing institutions recognised by the Government.

The Government announced on February 25 the distribution of RAT kits to people living or working in places with higher infection risks while suspending the issuing of CTNs. It aimed to focus resources in expediting the processing of nucleic acid tests and leverage the extensive use of the RAT.