Four community testing centres set up by the Government on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, New Territories East and New Territories West will commence service at 8am on November 15 (Sunday).
 
     The four community testing centres will be located at Quarry Bay Community Hall in Eastern District, Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre, Lek Yuen Community Hall in Sha Tin and Yuen Long Town East Community Hall respectively. The community testing centres will mainly provide self-paid testing services for the public at a more affordable price to serve general community or private purposes such as certification for travelling or work. The price of testing services will be capped at $240, with payment to be made in accordance with the arrangement of testing contractors. The Government will also, as and when necessary (such as in situations with higher risks of community transmission), conduct testing for target groups, specified persons or other members of the public at the testing centres for public health reasons on a needs basis, and separate announcements will be made at that time. The four testing centres will operate for an initial period of three months, which may be extended for another three months depending on the situation.
 
     A Government spokesman said, "Through the provision of venues by the Government and competitive tendering, the price of self-paid testing services at the community testing centres has been substantially reduced to $240. The community testing centres also enable the Government to meet unexpected testing demand in a more efficient and flexible manner, with a view to strengthening disease prevention and control in Hong Kong."
 
     The community testing centres will provide specimen collection services (using combined nasal and throat swabs) and COVID-19 testing services for all asymptomatic individuals (excluding children under 6 years old and people not suitable for testing) holding valid Hong Kong identity cards, Hong Kong birth certificates or other valid identity documents (including Hong Kong residents and non-Hong Kong residents). The centres will be open daily from 8am to 1.30pm and from 2.30pm to 8pm. Deep cleaning and disinfection will be conducted when they close in the afternoon and at night.
 
     Booking and walk-in services will be available. Bookings can only be made by holders of a Hong Kong identity card or a Hong Kong birth certificate. With the launch of the 24-hour booking system (www.communitytest.gov.hk) today (November 11), members of the public only need to provide simple personal information (including their name, Hong Kong identity card or Hong Kong birth certificate number and phone number) to select the testing centre and time slot. They may also visit the testing centres direct for on-site registration and testing. Participants with a negative result will receive a test report for a COVID-19 nucleic acid test within 24 hours. Those who test positive as confirmed by the Department of Health (DH) will receive calls from the DH to arrange for isolation and treatment in public hospitals in accordance with established procedures.
 
     For enquiries, please call the following hotlines of the community testing centres:
 

Quarry Bay Community Hall, Eastern District (Prenetics)	3008 8325
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre (Kingmed Diagnostics (Hong Kong) Limited)	9869 3603
Lek Yuen Community Hall, Sha Tin (Hong Kong Molecular Pathology Diagnostic Centre Limited)	2986 1272 2986 1270
Yuen Long Town East Community Hall (BGI)	2818 9690

Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Issued at HKT 16:54

NNNN