Mass testing for the city’s 7.4 million residents is set to take place over nine days starting in the second half of March, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified source.
Officials are planning to test people three times over nine days, with the government still deliberating whether a lockdown would be done on a district basis or citywide, the SCMP said. Hong Kong’s stock market would continue to operate, Sing Tao newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.On Tuesday, she appealed to the public “not to fall prey to rumours to avoid unnecessary fears being stirred”, saying the supply of food and goods remained normal.
Despite her comments, dozens of people queued to enter pharmacies and banks across the city, while many scoured empty shelves in grocery stores to stock up on whatever essentials they could.