The Government announced that the compulsory testing exercises and enforcement operations for the restricted areas in Hung Hom, Mong Kok and Quarry Bay finished today with four preliminary positive COVID-19 cases found.

After the compulsory testing exercises, people in the restricted areas who can present SMS notifications with negative test results or are wearing wristbands as proof of having undergone testing can leave the areas.

The Government exercised the power under the Prevention & Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation on February 7 to make restriction-testing declarations, requiring people within the two restricted areas to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing.

They had to stay in their homes until everyone in the two areas was tested and the results were mostly ascertained.

Additionally, the Government issued compulsory testing notices to those who had been at these buildings for more than two hours from January 25 to February 7 to undergo compulsory testing before February 9 even if they were not in the restricted areas when the declaration took effect.

It set up temporary specimen collection stations at the restricted areas and requested people subject to mandatory testing to have their combined nasal and throat swab samples collected for COVID-19 testing.

About 370 residents in the Hung Hom restricted area, 1,140 in the Mong Kok one and 860 in Quarry Bay were tested.

Enforcement actions, carried out immediately after the compulsory testing exercises, verified that all people in the restricted areas were tested.

Meanwhile, the Government assigned staff to visit about 1,218 households in the three restricted areas, of which 181 did not answer the door. Some of them are possibly vacant units.

Those who did not answer the door are urged to contact the Government to arrange testing as soon as possible.