Two of Tatler's Asia’s Most Influential honourees have once again joined hands—this time, to donate 200,000 free Covid-19 antigen testing kits to Hong Kong’s underprivileged to help fight the city's fifth wave.
Amid the fifth wave of Covid-19 and in light of the rising demand for testing, Adrian Cheng’s New World Development is once again partnering with Danny Yeung’s Prenetics to help the public tackle the outbreak. The two Tatler Asia’s Most Influential honourees will be donating 200,000 sets of Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits to the underprivileged in Hong Kong––helping to cut long waiting times at community testing centres.
Through this, the two hope to help alleviate the financial burden Hongkongers face when purchasing test kits or having to pay for tests at centres. “As the pandemic takes a turn for the worse, we believe partnering with Prenetics will vastly lower the social burden on the much-needed testing facilities, and amplify the social contribution of Hong Kong’s start-ups,” says Cheng.
During the early days of the pandemic, Cheng’s New World Development pioneered Hong Kong’s first smart mask dispenser to distribute face masks and provided vaccination allowances to those most in need. Meanwhile, Yeung’s Prenetics––which has been at the forefront of testing in Hong Kong and globally––launched Circle HealthPod, a rapid and reusable detection system for Covid-19 which is available for use at home.
“We are delighted to partner with New World Development to provide these kits to individuals who can truly benefit from them. We continue to ramp up our manufacturing supply chain to millions of rapid test kits, including Circle HealthPod, in the coming months to serve the local community,” says Yeung.
The 200,000 donated test kits have been granted emergency use authorisation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and approved by the Singapore HSA and Australia ARTG. Users will only need to perform a nasal swab, with test results available within 15 minutes. Asymptomatic cases can also be detected. The kit is safe for use for children as long as an adult administers the test.
The first batch of test kits will be donated to six non-profit partners in Hong Kong later this month, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service, Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, Society of Community Organisation, Children’s Cancer Foundation, HKYWCA and St. James’s Settlement.
These non-profit organisations will distribute the testing kits to beneficiaries who are most in need, such as workers in care homes and those with occupations that require regular testing including those in healthcare, cleaning, security and catering. Underprivileged single elderly and those who are chronically ill will also be given priority. In addition to the 200,000 test kits, the two companies will also donate 50 sets of Circle HealthPods and 500 single-use Covid-100 capsules to the six non-profits for their front line staff.
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