The Transport Department (TD) announced today (August 14) that, in order to enhance the anti-epidemic measures, the COVID-19 testing service, which has been provided to the transport trades since mid-July, will be extended to employees of franchised bus companies, kaito operators, designated driving schools, driving improvement schools and pre-service training schools for public light bus drivers, as well as private driving instructors, starting from next Monday (August 17).
For employees of franchised bus companies, the contractor of the testing service will provide swab self-sampling kits to the franchised bus companies starting from August 17. The companies will arrange for distribution and collection of swab self-sampling kits and collection of specimens collected from their employees for testing by the contractor of the testing service.
Kaito operators and their employees can bring along their staff identity cards or letters issued by the operators together with their valid Hong Kong identity cards and visit the designated swab self-sampling kit distribution points at specified time periods on August 18 and 19 for registration and collection of the kits on-site to conduct self-sampling of specimens and should return the specimen bottles to the distribution points as soon as possible. The contractor of the testing service will arrange laboratory testing of the specimens collected.
Private driving instructors holding valid driving instructor licences or employees with staff identity cards or letters issued by driving improvement schools/pre-service training schools for public light bus drivers can bring along the above-mentioned papers and their valid Hong Kong identity cards and visit the designated swab self-sampling kit distribution point at specified time periods on August 20 and 21 for registration and collection of the swab self-sampling kits on-site to conduct self-sampling of specimens and should return the specimen bottles to the collection point as soon as possible. The contractor of the testing service will then send the specimens to laboratories for testing.
The addresses, opening dates and hours of the swab self-sampling kit distribution and specimen bottle collection points are provided in the Annex.
Furthermore, the contractor of the testing service will provide swab self-sampling kits to the designated driving schools, which will in turn arrange for distribution and collection of the kits to their driving instructors and employees and arrange with the contractor for testing of the specimens collected.
The testing is voluntary and free of charge. The contractor will not retain the personal data of the participants. If a participant's test result is positive, the contractor will notify the TD on the specimen serial number. For a specimen serial number that belongs to an employee of a kaito operator, a driving improvement school or a pre-service training school for public light bus drivers, or a private driving instructor, the TD will relay the details of the participant concerned to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) for its follow-up. For a specimen serial number that belongs to an employee of franchised bus company or a designated driving school, the TD will notify the company concerned to relay the employee's information directly to the CHP.
Each participant can conduct the test through the scheme once only. The TD appeals to the employees of franchised bus companies, kaito operators, designated driving schools, driving improvement schools and pre-service training schools for public light bus drivers, as well as private driving instructors, to actively participate in the testing to ensure public health and minimise risks of the spread of the virus in the community. Taxi and public light bus drivers who have not participated in the testing service from July 17 to August 14 can also visit the points as shown in the Annex to collect swab self-sampling kits for testing. For details of the testing service, please refer to the website of the TD (www.td.gov.hk).
