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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Filipinos urged to take advantage of Hong Kong's free COVID-19 testing program

Filipinos urged to take advantage of Hong Kong's free COVID-19 testing program

Published Sep 11, 2020 09:30 pm

The Philippine Consulate General’s Office in Hong Kong has called on the members of the Filipino community to take advantage of the “free and voluntary” COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) testing program being provided by the Hong Kong government to the general public.

Consul General Raly Tejada (Facebook)

Consul General Raly Tejada made this call shortly after his visit at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai, one of the facilities being used for Hong Kong’s Universal Community Testing Program (UCTP) on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Tejada was given a quick walk-through and witnessed first-hand the procedures at the testing center. He, along with several consulate staff, registered for the free-testing program and took the swab tests on-site.

The UCTP was launched on Sept. 1, 2020 to provide a one-off free and voluntary testing service for the public and identify asymptomatic COVID-19 infected individuals in the community.

The program is aimed for early identification, early isolation and early treatment to cut the COVID-19 community transmission chain. Community testing centers were set up in all districts across the territory.

The consulate said appropriate infection control and social distancing measures have been put in place at the centers. Those who want to undergo the free testing may set appointments online by providing their personal information and selecting the testing location and time slot.

As of Sept. 8,  a total of 1,197,000 have registered online for the program and have been tested. 

Hong Kong is home to close to 230,000 Filipinos, the largest ethnic minority in the territory.

During the visit, Dr. Raymond Ho from the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), and Dr. Wiley Lam and Mary Foong from the Hong Kong Health Department received the Philippine Consulate team and gave them a tour of the facility.

Tejada thanked the officials for their assistance to the Filipino community amidst the pandemic and pledged support to Hong Kong’s continuing efforts to eliminate the disease.

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