Positive COVID-19 results continue to be found in Hong Kong's sewage samples

HONG KONG, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Saturday that there may be hidden cases of COVID-19 in the premises of some areas in the city as the virus has recently been detected in their sewage samples.

In order to help identify infected persons, about 135,000 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 of COVID-19 showing relatively high viral loads, it said.

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

To combat COVID-19, the HKSAR government's Environmental Protection Department and the Drainage Services Department have been collecting sewage samples in all districts of Hong Kong for COVID-19 virus testing.

A spokesperson for the Center for Health Protection 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 Saturday, Hong Kong registered 116 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 168 additional cases through self-reported RATs, official data showed.