The Department of Health today said the Enhanced Laboratory Surveillance Programme that provides free COVID-19 testing will be extended to cover asymptomatic travellers arriving from the UK, other European countries and the US in phases beginning tomorrow.

Starting at midnight, a specimen container will be provided to the aforementioned travellers for collecting deep throat saliva samples for testing.

Those given specimen containers have to collect their deep throat saliva sample by themselves, in accordance with the instructions, and have family members or friends deliver it to any of the collection points in the same morning.

The department explained that samples can be sent to their 13 designated chest or dermatological clinics from 9 to 11am on Monday to Sunday and some general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority from 8.30 to 9.30am on Monday to Friday except public holidays.

If a sample tests positive, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) will notify the person concerned as early as possible and arrange for their admission to a public hospital for treatment.

In general, if no notification is received within three working days of returning a sample, it means the test result is negative and the person concerned is required to continue confinement until the quarantine period ends.

Inbound travellers provided with specimen containers are urged to collect and arrange to hand in their deep throat saliva samples as early as possible so that virus testing can immediately be conducted by the CHP’s Public Health Laboratory Services Branch.

This will help identify arrivals who are asymptomatic and minimise the risk of community transmission, the department emphasised.