Residents of two Kwai Chung Estate blocks set free

Residents of Ying Kwai House and Ha Kwai House at Kwai Chung Estate were finally set free on Saturday after days of being locked up in their own homes. 

Those with negative test results can leave the two buildings starting at 7am this morning. 

However, sources said the estate saw 17 more confirmed patients as of 10am in the morning, pushing the infection tally to 413 cases. 

A man living in Ying Kwai was allowed to leave at about 6am before dawn for he had to go to work. 

"Of course I have to work. It's been almost a week!" he yelled at health officials. 

"It was worse than serving time in jail. I would never break any law. I had no idea how sad it was to be jailed," a man living in Ying Kwai House surnamed Ma said. 

On the other hand, a woman surnamed Lee praised the government for its arrangements. 

"I am now going for a cup of milk tea... At least my daily three meals were covered [by the government], and I got little gifts after undergoing the compulsory testing," Lee said. 

As for a couple living in Ha Kwai House, their priority was to walk their dog. "It is used to stay outdoors, not indoors," the woman named Yeung said. 

"I had to bring my dog to climb eight to 10 flights of stairs every day," her husband added.

The government declared an overnight lockdown at Ying Kwai House at 4am on Saturday last week (Jan 22), which was later extended to seven days. 

As of Friday, health authorities have run 13,526 Covid-19 tests on the residents there, and a total of 59 cases have been detected. 

Meanwhile, the five-day lockdown was declared at Ha Kwai House on Monday (Jan 24) night. As of Friday, health authorities have run 9,660 tests on the residents and detected 16 cases. 

As for the two lockdowns at Block D, Loong King Mansion in Hung Hom, and Tai Yuen House, Tai Pa Street, Tsuen Wan, no positive case was detected among some 300 residents living in these two buildings.