Health

Covid-19: Hong Kong gov’t mulls mandatory testing as activist raises privacy concerns


The Hong Kong government is considering making coronavirus testing mandatory in some circumstances as more untraceable local infections emerge, but a pro-democracy activist told HKFP on Friday that he feared personal data could be transferred to mainland Chinese authorities.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said on Thursday that authorities were reviewing whether to change the existing legal framework in order to make testing compulsory. She did not say whether this would be universal or would target specific groups only.

Photo: GovHK.

A compulsory testing scheme was necessary to take the government’s public heath work forward, Chan said. The health minister expressed worries about “silent transmission chains” in the community, as the city has recorded nine local infections with an unknown source since last Sunday.



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