Free sampling bottles selling online

Free sampling bottles provided by the Centre for Health Protection are on online platforms at as much as HK$25 each, after the compulsory test order for domestic helpers sparked a fight for bottles across the city. 

Authorities require the city's 370,000 domestic workers to get Covid-19 tests by Sunday after a helper was confirmed with the mutant strain, triggering long queues at testing points. 

Helpers can also get sampling bottles at 47 general out-patient clinics of Hospital Authority, 121 post offices and 20 distribution points in MTR stations. 

But bottles ran out at many locations due to high demand, leading to the unscrupulous seizing the chance to profit from it. They sell the bottles on online shopping platforms, at a price range of between HK$20 to 25. 

A netizen said that MTR refilled the bottles at 5.30am in the morning and people were already lining up at 6.30am. All the packs were distributed by 9am and those who were late couldn’t get one. 

According to regulations, each citizen can take a bottle using an Octopus card. But a lot of people brought several cards and took a number of bottles. 

There is also a loophole, as a person can use the same octopus card to retrieve a second bottle 15 minutes after the first --- meaning a person can use the same card for as many bottles as one wishes.