February 17, 2022
HONG KONG – Hong Kong is stepping up its efforts to bolster its COVID-19 testing capacity with the support from Chinese mainland authorities, as the city races to rein in the marauding fifth wave of the virus outbreak.
The Huo-Yan Laboratory, a temporary testing laboratory set up at the Ma On Shan Sports Centre in the New Territories, began operations on Wednesday.
With 16 air membrane laboratories, the facility is expected to raise the city’s daily virus testing capacity from 200,000 to 300,000.
The lab, previously set up at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre in August 2020, helped prevent the community transmissions during the last pandemic wave.
Medical staff work at the Huo-Yan Laboratory at the Ma On Shan Sports Centre on Feb 16, 2022. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)