Coronavirus: Hong Kong to spruce up conditions at new isolation facilities after complaints about poor quarantine experience
- Security Bureau’s anti-epidemic task force says it has been sourcing for items such as books and toys to cater to residents quarantined at isolation centres
- The team has adapted to feedback from residents and the experience in the Tsing Yi facility in how the newer isolation centres are run, it adds
Hong Kong officials have pledged to improve conditions at the new community isolation facilities, including offering bestselling books and TV dramas, after the administration was flooded with complaints from the public about their poor quarantine experience.
Officers from the Security Bureau told the Post they had also hired former tourist guides and fitness coaches as housekeeping assistants to operate hotline services across quarantine facilities in Hong Kong.
“We are looking at stocking books, toy sets and board games for families who have to undergo quarantine here. For this facility, we have stocked an array of items such as milk formula, diapers and sanitary pads for our residents,” said Keith Lau Ka-yip, a member of the Security Bureau’s anti-epidemic task force.
Lau said the team had been sourcing for additional supplies to cater to residents’ needs, including bestsellers at major bookstores in the city.
Free MyTV Go one-month subscription trials are now available for residents in community isolation centres across Hong Kong and they can stream dramas and other programmes for free during their stay.
To free up hospital beds for severe cases, the government had ordered the new centres to be built to accommodate patients with mild symptoms.
Among the five newly completed facilities, the centre in Tsing Yi was the first to begin operations on March 1, while the last one in Hung Shui Kiu opened on Thursday. The other three are on the artificial island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, in Fanling and San Tin.
