Fo Tan pubic housing quarantine for HK evacuees, infected 21 remain in Japan

More than 300 passengers from the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship, Diamond Princess,  will be sent to a newly-built public housing estate for quarantine when they arrive in Hong Kong from Thursday, the government announced early today, RTHK reports.
Two chartered flights will leave Tokyo late today to bring home Hong Kong people who have been stuck on the Diamond Princess since February 5.
According to a post on an official government Facebook page, they will spend 14 days in quarantine at the Chun Yeung Estate in Fo Tan, as most of the 150 spaces at four other quarantine centres are full.
The government said 21 people diagnosed with the disease, as well as their close contacts and other suspected cases, will stay in Japan.

Some passengers had complained about the prospect of being sent to quarantine centres despite testing negative for the virus, although they were happy to be quarantined in their homes.

The idea of using new public housing estates as quarantine centres has proved massively controversial. Protesters in Fanling clashed with police and started fires at an estate there, before the government scrapped plans to use it for quarantine.

There have also been protests at Fo Tan, including by people who were expecting to move into the new flats. The government says the facility is hundreds of metres away from homes, and move-in dates had not been confirmed.