Mainland-aided isolation facility in Hong Kong starts admitting COVID-19 patient

COVID-19 patients arrives at a newly built community isolation facility (CIF) in Tsing Yi, south China's Hong Kong, March 1, 2022. A newly built CIF started admitting its first batch of COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The facility, located in Tsing Yi, is open for service one day after its construction was completed within just one week on Monday with the support of the mainland. With its construction started on Feb. 22, the CIF is the first of its kind completed since the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic began in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). (Photo by Lui Siu Wai/Xinhua)

A newly built community isolation facility (CIF) started admitting its first batch of COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong on March 1 evening.

The facility, located in Tsing Yi, is open for service one day after its construction was completed within just one week on Monday with the support of the mainland.

At around 7 p.m. local time, Xinhua reporters saw vehicles, each carrying one confirmed patient, drive into the facility one after another. The patients were then accompanied by staff in protective clothing to go through the check-in procedures.

The CIF, with the capacity of accommodating about 3,900 patients, is a combination of modular cubicles, with each room equipped with basic furniture and bedding, air conditioner, smoke detector, and fire extinguisher.

John Lee, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said the Tsing Yi facility symbolizes the united fight against the epidemic, and the week-long fast construction is nothing short of a miracle.

Designed and built by China State Construction International Holdings Ltd., the project took a total workforce of over 1,800 people, including about 300 mainland employees and over 1,500 Hong Kong workers, who had been working around the clock since Feb. 22.

The facility, covering an area of about 60,000 square meters, is the first of its kind completed since the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic began in the HKSAR.

The facility will admit asymptomatic or mildly ill patients, and early isolation of those diagnosed can reduce the risk of infecting others and help break the chain of transmission in the community, Lee said on Tuesday during a visit to the compound.

Meanwhile, site formation has been completed for HKSAR's five temporary CIFs. Two permanent CIF projects at Penny's Bay and Kai Tak Pier are also in progress.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong registered 32,597 new COVID-19 cases and 117 deaths, official data showed.