Interview｜Yuan Guoyong said that nationwide testing is a good thing: 7500 people will be tested as soon as possible

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Written by: Zhang Meilan and Li Enci

2020-08-09 12:00

In July, the third wave of new crown pneumonia in Hong Kong broke out, an increase of 2,700 cases within one month, and about 40 elderly people died, but we still haven't seen when it will return to zero. "It should be done early in the morning, so it won't be where it is today!" Yuan Guoyong, chair professor of the Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, was still a little angry at the government's refusal to expand virus testing to find hidden patients in an interview with "Hong Kong 01".

This epidemic finally brought pains to the government. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced last Friday (7th) a voluntary testing program for all people. 7 million people can participate, which is more than Yuan's proposal in March to test 7,500 samples daily. He pointed out that increasing the number of tests is a good thing, describing it as "breaking the boring situation of the past four or five months."

Professor Yuan Guoyong of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong said that the government’s introduction of universal testing is a good thing and breaks the stalemate that has not been possible in the past few months. (Photo by Liang Pengwei)

Extended reading: Interview | The third wave of surge 2700 confirmed Yuan Guoyong urges the implementation of three strategies to prevent winter explosion

Hong Kong's anti-epidemic defense line can withstand the large number of imported cases in March. Research and experts from the Polytechnic University have pointed out that exempt persons from quarantine are a major loophole. It is believed that exempt persons such as seafarers and pilots have brought the virus into the community silently. The severe epidemic has lasted for more than a month. Since the reappearance of local cases on July 5 and no local case records for three weeks, a total of 2,749 confirmed cases have been recorded to August 8, accounting for 69% of the overall epidemic. In terms of deaths, 40 patients died temporarily in this round of the epidemic, accounting for 85% of the 47 cumulative deaths.

In July, the number of community outbreaks increased to 10,000 daily tests

Infection with the new coronavirus can be asymptomatic and can be called invisible transmission. As early as March, Yuan Guoyong had recommended that the government increase the daily testing volume to 7,500 samples to prevent any failures. However, as of August 4, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority have tested 692,430 samples, or about 3,000 samples per day. Among them, the overall daily average detection volume from May to June still hovered at 2,3,000; it only increased to about 9,600 when a community outbreak occurred in July.

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It is easy to control the epidemic by strengthening testing before the outbreak

Yuan Guoyong, who is a member of the government's anti-epidemic expert group, pointed out that the government's arrangement of nationwide testing is also a good thing for citizens and shop customers. He pointed out that the current launch of large-scale free testing is breaking the boring situation of the past four or five months. "Before I wanted to do the test, a lot of people were waiting in line. Now the situation (the number of tests) has finally improved."

Looking back on this multi-month initiative, it is expected that it will eventually be realized under the central arrangement of a testing support team. Yuan Guoyong said: "(Before) more than 2,000 inspections were conducted every day, and it was useless to clamp over tens of thousands in an outbreak. At first, when there were no outbreaks, 7,500 inspections per day were good, and it was easy to control. Two hundred (confirmed cases), 10,000 tests are useless, is it? So I always said that if you should do it early in the morning, it won't be the situation today."

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Yuan Guoyong, Chair Professor of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, said in an interview that if 7500 samples could be tested in the initial stage, the situation today would not be the case. (Photo by Liang Pengwei)

Are there any better than the citizens can choose by themselves?

The government will arrange for the general public to test for the new crown virus free of charge, but it has not yet announced the sampling method. There are currently three methods for collecting samples for laboratory tests. The first is a nasopharyngeal swab, the second is a throat swab, and the third is deep throat saliva. Which one is better? Yuan Guoyong explained that it doesn’t matter what test sample is used. The most important thing is that the sample is accurately obtained. "The nasopharyngeal swab needs to be inserted into the nostril. It is uncomfortable to take the nasopharyngeal swab as deep as it is close to the ear. , Nosebleeds may also occur, which requires certain skills. To take a throat swab requires an understanding of anatomy. It is useful to take samples after the tonsils and after the bell. It is useless to lick the tongue, palate, and teeth. As for deep throat saliva, it is not For saliva testing, deep throat saliva is best taken right after waking up, before brushing your teeth, before eating breakfast, sucking air in your nose, "krat" spit out accumulated secretions from your throat."

When asked which method is most suitable for the citizens, Yuan Guoyong believes that the citizens should choose. The government should consider whether there are a large number of medical staff to help citizens take samples. "If citizens take samples by themselves, can they be trained well, and the easiest way to train citizens to sample samples? What is it? Everyone has to decide. I won’t help everybody to make a decision. Is it better than the citizens can choose by themselves?"

Promoting future relaxation of restrictions must be thoughtful

Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor admitted at a press conference last Friday that about 40% of the local cases of the epidemic were of unknown origin, and cited test data to estimate that there are 1,500 invisible patients in the community. She announced that in two weeks at the earliest, voluntary testing will be introduced for all people. The authorities expect that close to 500,000 samples can be tested every day.

Yuan Guoyong believes that when testing is completed and all patients and close contacts are isolated, the greatest help to the epidemic. But in the end, whether this national test is in line with epidemic control or economic benefits, "We don't know that Hong Kong is not like the mainland, which can implement a foot ban for a period of time." He hopes that the government will consider relaxing measures even if the epidemic passes in the future. Thoughtful, "(Otherwise) wasting time, spending billions of dollars and doing a nationwide test. This is not a solution."

▼In the third wave, the government has extended the restrictions on gatherings and banned food in the evening market.▼

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