By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Tsui says the elderly are being encouraged to self-test regularly |
Health authorities say free rapid antigen test (RAT) kits will be distributed free to people aged 60 and above starting next Tuesday, to encourage them to self-test regularly. The service will run until May 31.
Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Tsui Tak-yi said during the daily briefing on Covid-19 that 680 designated service points at district health centres, elderly social centres and elderly day care centres will distribute the free kits.
Each recipient who is a member at the centre or service recipients will get five sets of test kits each time, but staff can exercise discretion in giving them to non-members as well.
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Tsui said this would give better protection to the elderly, who make up more than 90% of all death cases in the fifth wave of the pandemic.
"Elderly people belongs to high-risk groups... Currently we have effective
antiviral medications, when given in the early stage of the illness, on symptoms
onset, it will reduce the risk of [the illness] getting more severe, or even
death," he said.
"With this effective treatment measure, early diagnosis is important for
the elderly. So I think it's important to provide more accessibility to this
age group."
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Tsui also said elderly residents aged 70 and above can also undergo PCR tests at community testing centers for free without making a reservation.
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| CE Lam says free rapid test kits will only be given to needy students |
Earlier Chief Executive Carrie Lam also said free rapid test kits will be given to students in need when face-to-face classes resume after the Easter holidays. Pupils and teachers will be required to self-test everyday to ensure safety within schools.
CE Lam said 10 million RAT kids have been reserved for students, but only those from households receiving government subsidies.
She said public resources should “be used on those who need it most,” adding that public resources will be hugely affected if the government has to supply everything.
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Meanwhile, other health officials reported 1,272 new Covid-19 cases and 62 related deaths Wednesday.
The new cases included 734 confirmed through PCR tests and 538 from self-tests.
Twelve cases were detected from travelers who flew in on
eight flights from
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Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the overall tally in the fifth wave has now surpassed 1.18 million.
She also said that the death toll from the Omicron outbreak has risen to 8,735, and the death rate to 0.739%
Another 62 patients with Covid had died, including 54 who passed away yesterday, and 8 whose deaths were not reported on time.
There are about 9,000 patients still undergoing treatment at public hospitals and treatment facilities. Among them, six are in critical condition, seven are in serious condition, and 54 are admitted to hospitals' intensive care units.
A total of 1,544 recovered patients have been discharged in the past 24 hours.
