Coronavirus: opposition over plan to convert City Hall space into quarantine monitoring centre for 100 Hong Kong government workers
- Temporary workplace is for civil servants and volunteers to conduct phone checks on those under mandatory 14-day quarantine in city
- Critics say 6,350 sq ft area too small and poses infection risks amid Covid-19 outbreak, contradicting measures to limit crowds of people
Some 100 Hong Kong civil servants and volunteers involved in phone checks on quarantined residents will operate in a converted area at City Hall in Central, but critics have accused the government of cramming workers into a limited space and heightening health risks amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer said on Monday evening that it had identified a venue in City Hall, the second of its kind with the first already in operation in North Point, to function as a monitoring centre. Authorities expect it to be ready by the end of the week.
Government sources told the Post earlier in the day that the site would span 6,350 sq ft – nearly the size of 1½ basketball courts – for staff to monitor residents and travellers under the 14-day quarantine.
A civil servant involved in the operation expressed worries over Covid-19 infection risks, while a lawmaker described the arrangement as a “very bad example” of a crowd gathering.
In its reply to the concerns aired, the office said: “We anticipate that each centre, in full operation, will have less than 100 helpers on one shift, thus maintaining social distancing among them.”
But one of the government sources said the City Hall venue, which can accommodate up to 200 workers, might have shifts that overlapped.
