Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung (File photo)Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said that the government’s aim was to send close contacts of coronavirus patients sent into quarantine within 24 hours after contacting the confirmed patients. Speaking on a radio program, Cheung acknowledged the delays, saying that was due to the surge of Covid-19 cases recently. He said that there were around 500 people at peak waiting in line to be sent to quarantine centers. Last Saturday, a 62-year-old woman living at Mei Tao House in Shatin was found dead at home while she was waiting to be sent to a quarantine center, after receiving her quarantine order on December 9. The Department of Health said some 480 close-contacts of patients had been sent to quarantine centers in the past 24 hours.

Source: The Standard December 19, 2020 04:19 UTC