Over 200K Register their Positive Tests

Those who test positive from RAT can now register online

Finally the Centre of Health Protection's website for people to register that they tested positive using rapid antigen tests was launched at 6pm today and within hours over 200,000 have done so.

While the CHP stresses this is a voluntary exercise, thousands of people have registered because they may be living in spaces where they cannot isolate, or are with family members and are too scared to infect them.

When they registered they had to give their personal details, as well as those of their household members, their symptoms and the condition of the others in the home. 

CHP will arrange isolation quarters for people

They also have to upload a picture of the RAT showing the positive result. And then health authorities will determine if they need to go to hospital or if their symptoms are mild to recover in community isolation facilities.

Registered users can also get a certificate of their infection from CHP so that it can be given to their employers to be able to take sick leave.

The CHP said today that only those who tested positive today should register, while those who found out they were positive from February 26 to March 5 could register later, with March 14 being the deadline to avoid overloading the system.

Today there were 25,150 cases logged, and 161 people died in the past 24 hours, another 119 who died were from backlogged cases. The death toll so far is now 2,287, the highest in the developed world. 

As if that wasn't tragic enough, two children aged four and eight died with underlying conditions. Both had received one jab of Sinovac. They will be included in tomorrow's death count.

Chan (left) had not date for consumption vouchers

A friend suggested that because of the past two years children have been wearing masks everyday and not exposed to as many germs as before, let alone the flu, perhaps their bodies were overwhelmed when they were infected with Covid-19. 

Meanwhile Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po gave an uneventful press conference announcing details of the electronic voucher, as another HK$10,000 will be doled out to 6.3 permanent residents 18 years and older, and new migrants from the mainland.

However, he stopped short of giving the exact date when the exercise would start, citing the pandemic, and yet wanting to dole out money soon to help businesses. 

"Because of the pandemic situation, many shops' operations have been interrupted. That also applies to other stakeholders and operators involved in this particular consumption voucher project. That's why, to be prudent, we're refraining from giving a specific date," Chan said.

The four options to collect and use e-vouchers

"We hope to do it as early as practically possible, but it really depends on the circumstances... I think it is important for us to do sufficient back-end work, with the system properly tested."

What is there to test? Practically everyone who registered the first time haven't changed their details unless they have left Hong Kong. 

Nevertheless, when reporters asked if the e-vouchers would instead be available in cash for those who would find it more useful, Chan said no, things would be the same. Nor was there a condition of getting the jab before receiving the payout. 

So where is the incentive to get people inoculated? Again there is no benefit to being vaccinated, and yet the city is going through the worst Covid-19 wave now.

It boggles the mind...