Prognosis
Hong Kong to Test Whole City for Covid With Beijing’s Help
- Government is still deciding whether to make it mandatory
- Xi Jinping ordered Hong Kong to contain Covid by any means
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Hong Kong is planning a testing blitz of the entire city, deploying a tactic used to root out Covid-19 cases on the mainland as the financial hub struggles to get control over its most challenging outbreak of the pandemic.
Chinese medical experts will likely be brought in to assist in the effort, according to people familiar with the administration’s thinking, and government vans currently used for vaccinations will be converted to mete out tests, one of the people said. Officials are still deciding whether to make the mass testing compulsory, the people said, with Sing Tao Daily reporting those who refuse may be subject to a HK$10,000 ($1,280) fine. The push will begin in early March and be conducted over weeks, other local media said.