Rapid test kits will NOT be distributed to all students ahead of school resumption: Carrie Lam

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Wednesday that the SAR government will not distribute rapid antigen test kits to all students ahead of school resumption, citing public resources should only go to those in need.  

Hong Kong schools are scheduled to resume face-to-face teaching after the Easter holidays, and pupils and teachers will be required to take rapid tests every day.  

At her daily press briefing, Lam said she understood there have been calls for the government to hand out rapid antigen test (RAT) kits to every student in the territory.  

She said the government has since reserved 10 million RAT kits to be distributed to students from households receiving government subsidies.

The Chief Executive said not all students will receive them as public resources should “be used on those who need it most,” adding that the allocation of public resources will be hugely affected if the government has to supply everything.  

“If the government has to supply everything, we will not only be splashing HK$600 billion in government spending each year,” said Lam.  

She stressed that those who needed to obtain more RAT kits could head to the city’s 89 distribution points when necessary. The distribution points are set to close after today.  

Meanwhile, when asked about complaints from some parents and teachers that daily testing of young children will be difficult, the CE said officials will review the situation in a few weeks.  

“We are not requiring daily tests until the summer. We will do a review in a few weeks, looking at the frequency of the tests, whether tests will be needed every day, and who needs to do it and who doesn’t,” Lam said.  

She also told reporters that vaccinated children will not be exempted from the tests because inoculation only prevents serious illness and death, but not infection.

Currently, prices of RAT kits have dropped as low as HK$5 each – as compared to HK$120 each two months ago – after the government distributed free test kits to citizens earlier this month through the government’s anti-epidemic service bags, which also contain N95 masks and boxes of Chinese medicine “Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang”.