The UCTP exercise involved some 4,000 serving and retired civil servants undertaking support duties at the testing centres.

Through testing under UCTP and tracing of close contacts of the confirmed cases concerned, a total of at least 42 patients in the community had been identified for isolation and treatment.

In expressing his appreciation of the contribution by civil service colleagues to the implementation of UCTP, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip said, “The setting up of more than 140 community testing centres in all 18 districts to provide a convenient and speedy testing service for more than 1.78 million people in two weeks’ time was not an easy achievement. The UCTP could not have been such a great success without the experience, careful planning, flexibility and teamwork of civil service colleagues.”

“Although civil service colleagues were only given an extremely short period of time to plan an implement the UCTP, they made concerted efforts and responded swiftly to rise to the challenges. Their professionalism and high efficiency were admirable, which was also the key to winning the public’s trust and support for the UCTP ultimately.” Mr Nip said.