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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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#FailedState #Covid19 #Covid19Test

Hong Kong Government Proposes Untrained Medical and Nursing Students to Aid in Covid-19 Tests

Source: InMedia #Aug18
https://bit.ly/322Wawg

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24412
#FailedState #Covid19 #Covid19Test

Hong Kong Government Proposes Untrained Medical and Nursing Students to Aid in Covid-19 Tests

After hiring 3 Chinese companiese to run COVID19 tests in Hong Kong without public tender, the HKSAR government has recently proposed to recruit medical and nursing students to assist in the collection of samples.

Trained surgeon and pro-democracy lawmaker, Dr. Kwok Ka-Ki of Civil Party, said that the government is playing with fire by recruiting untrained medical students, nursing students, and amateur doctors.

Dr. Kwok pointed out that the nasal swab test is a high-risk task. During nasopharyngeal swab sampling, sample collection helpers have to be in close contact with the patients. If a patient coughs and vomits, the crew needs to change an entire set of protective gear and equipments.

He said that he still feels the stress while collecting samples, despite being a doctor for more than 10 years. Hence, he finds the government's choice in selecting untrained and inexperienced individuals highly questionable.

"They haven’t seen any patient yet, how are they expected to safely collect samples?”

Dr. Kwok also questioned how come professors in medical schools are not speaking out and objecting against the proposal. Untrained students may hurt the patients and get embroiled in a lawsuit before even graduating. They may also not know how to protect themselves adequately.

A source said that the government's Home Affairs Department is checking with the Social Welfare Department about the venue for COVID-19 test.

Cheung Chi-wai, Vice President of Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union (#HKSWGU), stated that community centres might not meet medical requirements. Some of the older facilities may not have an air conditioner or proper ventilation system. He called for the government to stop this arrangement.

Cheung said, “some of these buildings have kindergartens and elderly care centers. Not only do many people come in and out, but many of them are also weaker in their immune systems. It is still very risky, even if the sample collection were to be done at the lobby.”

Source: InMedia #Aug18
https://bit.ly/322Wawg

#KwokKaKi #CheungChiWai
#FailedState #UniversalTest #COVID19Test
HK Government to Use At Least 3 Caritas Community Centers as COVID-19 Test Center Without Consulting Staff, Residents and District Council

[Editor's note: As of 24 August, the government's requisition of the Ngau Tau Kok Caritas Center has been suspended.]

Source: Kwun Tong Community News #Aug23

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24523
#FailedState #UniversalTest #COVID19Test
HK Government to Use At Least 3 Caritas Community Centers as COVID-19 Test Center Without Consulting Staff, Residents and District Council

[Editor's note: As of 24 August, the government's requisition of the Ngau Tau Kok Caritas Center has been suspended.]

On 22 August, 2020, the Caritas Employee Union revealed on Facebook that the HKSAR government will use three Caritas Community Centers located in Tsuen Wan, Nagau Tai Kok and Aberdeen for 14 days to collect COVID19 test samples. The centre will open for 12 hours for civilians to submit samples.

According to the Caritas Employee Union, besides the senior management, most of the frontline employees and some middle management staff objected this arrangement.

The Union told Kwun Tong Community News that employees only received the notification of the arrangement on 21 August but without any details of the plan and relevant pandemic prevention measures. The government took less than 24 hours to go from
site inspection to requisition. The employees found it a rash decision.

In particular, the Ngau Tau Kok Caritas Community Center located at On Tak Road is nearby the residential area and the Ngau Tai Kok market. Residents worried that a community outbreak of COVID19 could be caused in the neighborhood.

Ngau Tai Kok district councillor Li Wing Shan wrote on her Facebook page, condemning the government for not consulting the residents, market stall owners and district councillors about the arrangement. She pointed out that the government's use of these facilities is affecting the livelihood of the residents, “District councillors in Kwun Tong receive a lot of requests every day and refer many cases to the Caritas Community Center as a follow-up. If the Caritas Community Center is used for other purpose, its original daily operation may be affected. It will cause an impact to the community.”

Source: Sweet Potato @ Kwun Tong Community News #Aug23

https://www.facebook.com/Kwuntongnews/posts/163293945345007

#CaritasCommunityCenter
#FailedState #COVID19Test #UniversalTesting
Fear of COVID19 Infection Arise in Hong Kong as Government Testing Centre Disposes of Medical Waste Casually at Nearby Dumpster


On the second day of the government-promoted Covid-19 universal testing scheme, government officials reiterated that measures have been taken at testing centres to ensure that they are compliant with infection prevention requirements.

When a Stand News reporter visited Ngai Tau Kok Sports Stadium, it was found that the outsourced cleaners from external cleaning companies were not wearing protective clothing. Biohazard wastes from the testing centre, which include personal protective equipments, masks, and disposable gloves, were disposed of at nearby dumpster.

The reporter also found some trash bags improperly tied. Paper cups and gloves were also strewn all over the place.

Source: Stand News #Sept3

#Waste #Biohazard
#FailedState #UniversalTesting #Covid19Test
HK Gov't Extends COVID 19 Universal Testing Scheme Despite Less-than-stellar Reception and Refuses to Disclose Expenses

Source: InMedia #Sept4
https://bit.ly/3h15Jky

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25075
#FailedState #UniversalTesting #Covid19Test
HK Gov't Extends COVID 19 Universal Testing Scheme Despite Less-than-stellar Reception and Refuses to Disclose Expenses

The participation and the effectiveness of the Hong Kong government's universal Covid-19 testing scheme, which has started since Sept 1, were below expectations.

However, the Secretary of Civil Service Bureau, Patrick Nip Tak-Kuen, announced on Sept 4 plans the extension of the scheme for 4 more days and the closure of 19 Centers with lower turnouts.

Journalists have questioned the reason behind the extension of the program, since there were less than 1 million participants, and the results yielded were far behind the government’s estimation. The government expected to find 1 confirmed case in every 5,000 samples; however, the actual result was only 1 case in 60,000 samples.

The media have also requested for the government to disclose the overall expense of this program.

Sophia Chan Siu-chee, the Secretary for Food and Health, stood in defense of the government's decisions, saying that the numbers of tests and confirmed cases are constantly changing, so she will not comment on its effectiveness. Nip rejected the media's request for the disclosure of the expense, and said that it was irrelevant for such a question to be in discussion at this juncture.

Source: InMedia #Sept4
https://bit.ly/3h15Jky

#Covid19 #WuhanPneumonia #PatrickNip #SophiaChan #TaxPayersMoney
#OpinionArticle #UniversalTest #COVID19Test
An Open Letter from an Ordinary Hong Kong Doctor to Secretary for Food & Health 

Published on Stand News on August 27, 2020, the open letter raises questions over the universal COVID-19 testing scheme organized by the Hong Kong SAR Government, with test results run by Chinese companies.

These questions include:

- "For citizens who have taken the test, should they undergo self-quarantine while awaiting the result?"

- "As the coronavirus might mutate, when should one go for a second test despite the first negative result?"

Read all the questions raised:

https://telegra.ph/An-Open-Letter-from-an-Ordinary-Hong-Kong-Doctor-to-Secretary-for-Food--Health-09-06

Source: Stand News #Aug27

#SophiaChan #HongKongMedics #SelfQuarantine #RecurrentInfection
#MadeInChina #Covid19Test
Faulty Chinese test kits yield false Covid-19 results in Sweden

Sweden's Public Health Agency said that Chinese test kits had returned some 3,700 false positive results, an error discovered by two laboratories during routine quality controls.

These kits are made by the company BGI Genomics and had been distributed worldwide.

Other than Sweden, these tests kits have also been exported to many other countries around the world. The Health Agency has informed the relavant authorities, and the World Health Organization.

As a result of this discovery, Sweden's authoriries had to contact those affected, as well as adjust the nation's official number of cases.

Source: MedicalXpress #Aug26
#Covid19 #WuhanPneumonia #CCPVirus #Sweden
#FakeNumbers
HK Government Allegedly Pressures Foreign Domestic Workers to Join COVID19 Universal Testing

In his Facebook post on September 7, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong revealed a screen capture of a whatsapp conversation, showing how the Hong Kong authorities allegedly incentivize the public to join the so-called “voluntary” COVID-19 universal testing scheme.

The controversies concerning the scheme included the Hong Kong government's commission of three Chinese companies, unlicensed in Hong Kong, to run COVID19 tests for the population; government official's refusal to disclose the budget of the extended scheme; and the genuine effectiveness of the scheme.

The whatsapp conversation was recorded by a person working at a Domestic Helper Agency. The person received a special request from the government's Home Affairs Bureau, asking her to arrange 50 domestic helpers to get the COVID-19 test in the City Hall during a planned visit of a senior government official.

The person was told that she would be offered a “bonus money” of HKD200 for every 10 domestic helpers she brings to the test.

From this incident, Joshua Wong raised two important queries:

• How much taxpayers' money has been used by the government just to “pump up” the overall number of participants of the test?

• How many participants of the voluntary testing scheme run by the government are genuinely “volunteers”?

Last but not least, Wong called on the Home Affairs Bureau to look into the case and the Ombudsman to be involved in the investigation.

Source: Joshua Wong’s Facebook #Sept4

https://www.facebook.com/200976479994868/posts/3309114989180986/?extid=8c8BoAvCWXEZe4lv&d=n

#COVID19Test #FailedState #HAB #Staging
HK's Correctional Services Force Inmates to Undergo 'Voluntary' COVID Tests and Penalized Those Refused

Pro-democracy legislator and social worker Shiu Ka-chun revealed that the Correctional Services in Hong Kong had ordered all inmates to participate in the government's 'voluntary' universal CoVID19 testing scheme. The scheme has sparked many controversies including the government's commission of unlicensed Chinese companies to run laboratory tests and security concern over personal data collection.

According to Shiu, a jailed female pro-democracy protester, who refused to join the 'voluntary' testing scheme, was being 'punished': She was locked up in an isolation cell, with no access to TV, book and radio.

Source: Shiu Ka-Chun's Facebook; Local Press #Sept10

#ShiuKaChun #UniversalTesting #COVID19Test #CorrectionalServices

=====
Hong Kong Correctional Services Refuses Retired Cardinal to Distribute Mooncakes to Persons in Custody
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25100
#Confidentiality #UniversalTesting
Details of Universal COVID-19 Test Remains Shrouded as Government Fails to Disclose the Address of China-Run Labs

The Universal Covid-19 test has concluded for now, but the details of the plans behind the test remains unknown to the public, with the public only knowing of the “Fire Eye Laboratory” at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sport Centre for the time being. However, the government has rejected to discloses the address of the other three testing organisations' labs, including KingMed, Hybribio, China Inspection Company.

HKCNews sent an inquiry about the address of KingMed, Hybribio and Chinese Inspection Company's labs to the government on 10 September.
The government spokesperson replied on 11 Sep, saying that “all medical laboratories in Hong Kong conform to the provisional of laws in Hong Kong… Furthermore, all private laboratories which provide Covid-19 test for the Hong Kong government and all testing laboratories for the universal Covid-19 test have to pass the External Quality Assessment Programmes conducted by the Department of Health. It ensures their techniques of virus testing meet the relevant standard.” However, the government still haven’t disclosed their address.

The journalist has requested the government to explain the reason for the confidentiality were they to not provide the addresses. The Information Service Department replied on 14 September that they didn’t have any further updates.

The journalist sent an email on Tuesday to ask about three testing companies, KindMed, Hybribio and China Inspection Company. There was no reply as of yet.

Source: HKCNews #Sept16

#Covid19Test #FailedState #Transparency #CCPControl
#KindMed #Hybribio #ChinaInspectionCompany #FireEyeLab
#MassSurveillance
Medical Association in HK Cautions Police Involvement in Mandatory COVID19 Test Enforcement

Earlier, the Hong Kong Government briefly mentioned its intension to request high-risk population to undergo “mandatory COVID-19 test” in order to gauge public response.

Meanwhile, Professor of #HKU Microbiology Department Yuen Kwok-yung proposed that persons with onset of mild symptoms should also undergo “mandatory COVID-19 test”.

President of the HK's Medical Association, Choi Kin revealed that he was invited by the Food and Health Bureau to discuss the “mandatory COVID-19 test” enforcement. Choi reiterated his reservation, as seeking police involvement in medical cases could be detrimental to doctor-and-patient relationship and that could even lead to patients' refusal to pursue medical attention.

Source: Stand News #Oct19
https://www.facebook.com/710476795704610/posts/3568523766566551/

#PoliceState #WuhanPneumonia
#COVID19Test
#ChoiKin #MedicalAssociation
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#FirstHand #Feb28
Inside the Testing Booth: The Looming Presence of Prenetics

At 7pm on Jan 28, 2021, the Hong Kong government imposed an ambush lockdown on Kam Ping Street in North Point. All residents were forbidden to leave and all civilians inside the "restricted area" were to be tested before 2am on Jan 29, by the authorities' order.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28228

The video captured the testing procedure inside the booth set up by the authorities on the street. The mark #Prenetics, a genetic testing company, was visible.

The government ended the operation at 7am on Jan 29. Among the 475 people tested, no positive case was found.

#PoliceState #FailedState #AmbushLockdown #Covid19Test
#FirstHand #Apr16
HK Government #Lockdown a Building Near Midnight for Compulsory #Covid19Test

At around 11:30pm on April 16, 2021, the Hong Kong government suddenly imposed a lockdown of Parkes Building in Jordon. A case of #covid19 variant was reported found in the building.

Police cordoned off the area while the staff from the health authorities were stationed. All residents including children and elderly were required to undergo a compulsory test before 2:30am.

#PoliceState #JordonLockdown #Ambush