Hong Kong will provide free coronavirus testing to all residents starting Sept. 1.
The testing will be done on a voluntary basis and will be available for up to two weeks. Hong Kong has been forced to temporarily shut down due to a surge in new infections.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a statement, "What we're doing today is so that we can come off the epidemic as soon as possible, so that we can resume our economic activities."
City officials say the free testing is possible thanks to support from Beijing.
That's raised privacy concerns among Hong Kongers, especially in light of a new Chinese national security law that critics say threatens human and civil rights.
Lam has dismissed concerns that Beijing will use the testing to collect DNA samples, among other things, as "conspiracy theories."
