Covid patients may share room at isolation facilities

People subject to quarantine at the city’s community isolation facilities may have to share their room with strangers when the facilities are nearing total capacity, said Principal Assistant Secretary for Security John Tse Chun-chung.  

Speaking on a radio program on Thursday, Tse said Hong Kong now has six to seven temporary community isolation facilities, including Tsing Yi and San Tin.  

As of Wednesday, the Tsing Yi isolation facility has reached 80 percent of its capacity, with 100 people having finished their quarantine, said Tse.  

He said it was expected that around 10 percent of the rooms require disinfection and will be temporarily put out of service every now and then, adding that the 80 percent occupancy rate was reasonable.  

He also said those subject to quarantine may have to share their rooms with strangers when there is a tight supply of quarantine rooms.  

Meanwhile, he said the temporary isolation facilities in the territory are more or less the same, with residents needing to share toilets and bathrooms.  

However, he said authorities have since changed the design of having squat toilets to sit toilets after receiving feedback from quarantined individuals in Tsing Yi that they were not used to using such toilets. 

Tse said authorities are now recruiting more veterans from the tourism industry to help run the facilities.   

“Residents can call the hotline to request for help, while staffers will follow up on residents’ conditions through WhatsApp,” Tse added.