The Correctional Services Bureau (DSC) stated that those seeking to enter its facilities, including the Coloane Prison and the Youth Detention Institute, must possess a negative SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT) result issued within the 48 hours preceding the visit.
In response to an enquiry by the Times, the bureau said that the requirement applies to all visitors, including lawyers, the DSC stressed. The bureau explained that this new requirement was implemented in response to the high transmissibility of the Omicron Covid-19 variant and aims to safeguard the health and safety of residents in its facilities.
Meanwhile, as Hong Kong is facing an outbreak of Covid-19 among prisoners, the region is moving infected inmates to an isolation facility as the city struggles to snuff out a record number of cases by implementing China’s “zero tolerance” strategy.
Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department previously said that the Sha Tsui facility on Lantau Island was designated for quarantining infected prisoners, whose numbers are expected to grow. AL
