Hong Kong orders mandatory Covid testing for entire population, schools to close early for summer

And just what is Hong Kong going to do with all the people who test positive?

With the help on the Central government, Hong Kong will implement citywide testing, Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced. Three rounds of testing will be conducted, said Lam on Tuesday, and no less than one million tests will be carried out per day.

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

And they will force residents to take at-home tests in between the other test:

Residents will also be asked to conduct daily self-testing between each compulsory test, and test kits will be provided to citizens. The compulsory testing will begin in March, and the government will impose more area-specific lockdowns in the interim, said Lam.

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

Good luck with finding space for everyone:

Lam said that quarantining those who test positive is still the government's goal, even though an estimated 30,000 Covid patients are still waiting to be sent to quarantine facilities. https://t.co/mhnnmfQ9vE

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

This just doesn’t seem feasible going forward, right?

Government departments will have to arrange quarantine facilities for their own civil servants who tested positive, said Lam.

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

And there’s still a travel ban in place which we’re told in America is racist and such:

The ban on flights from nine countries will be extended until April 21.

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

For comparison purposes, 82% of Floridians over age 5 have at least one does, so hoping this stops the spread seem a little misplaced:

The government aims for a 90 per cent vaccination rate for the first dose of vaccine by the beginning of March, and an 80 per cent rate for the second dose in mid-March.

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

We expect even more strick measures are on the way:

Lam urged citizens to limit non-necessary outings, and employers of foreign domestic workers to discuss resting day arrangements with migrant workers.

— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) February 22, 2022

Sure, *another* lockdown is just the trick! This time it will surely work:

Chinese officials have told Hong Kong that they think a lockdown will be needed to contain surging Covid-19 cases, sources say https://t.co/lfa6SkWa3z

— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 22, 2022

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