Hong Kong continues tracing COVID-19 through sewage surveillance

HONG KONG, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Sunday that the COVID-19 virus continues to be detected in sewage samples from different areas in Hong Kong, indicating that there may be hidden cases in the premises in these areas.

About 150,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits will be distributed to residents, cleaning workers, and property management staff working in the areas with positive sewage testing results showing relatively high viral loads, in order to help identify infected persons, it said.

The HKSAR government also urged RAT kit users to report any positive results for COVID-19 via the government's online platform.

In efforts to combat COVID-19, the HKSAR government's Environmental Protection Department and the Drainage Services Department, in collaboration with a cross-disciplinary team of the University of Hong Kong, have strengthened the sampling of sewage in all districts of Hong Kong for COVID-19 virus testing.

A spokesperson for the Center for Health Protection (CHP) strongly appealed to the public to continue to comply with social distancing measures and urged unvaccinated individuals to get vaccinated as early as possible, as the local situation of COVID-19 infection is still severe.

On Sunday, Hong Kong registered 112 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 154 additional cases through self-reported RATs, official data showed.