New World Development announces today that amidst the recent outbreak of the fifth wave of COVID-19, and in light of the rising demand for COVID-19 testing and long waiting time at Community Testing Centres, it is partnering with the Hong Kong unicorn, genetic and diagnostic health testing company Prenetics to provide a new solution to the public. Through this partnership, New World will donate 200,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits to a number of non-profits starting from late-February, six of them will then identify and distribute these kits to the underprivileged who are most in need. New World hopes the latest initiative will help alleviate the financial burden of the underprivileged in purchasing testing kits, while also fighting the challenging fifth wave.
Adrian Cheng: Lessening the Burden on Hong Kong’s Underprivileged
New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng said, “Our group has always adhered to the spirit of Creating Shared Value (CSV). When the pandemic evolves, our community initiatives evolve with it. In the past, we have pioneered Hong Kong’s first smart mask dispenser to distribute face masks to the underprivileged, and provided vaccination allowance to those in need. 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.”
Prenetics CEO Danny Yeung said: “Understanding the urgent need of rapid testing kits, 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.”
15-Minute Rapid Antigen Test Kits; Suitable for Children
A total of 200,000 rapid antigen test kits will be donated by New World and Prenetics in the latest CSV initiative. The test kits have been granted emergency use authorisation by the 2 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and approved by the Singapore HSA and Australia ARTG. Users will only need to perform a painless nasal swab, with test results available within 15 minutes. Asymptomatic coronavirus cases can also be detected. The kit is also suitable for children, who can be tested by an adult.
Donation by Late-Feb; Distributed by Non-Profit Partners
New World and Prenetics will donate the first batch of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits to six non-profit partners in Hong Kong starting in late-February, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service, Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, Society for Community Organization, HKYWCA, Children's Cancer Foundation, and St. James’ Settlement. In order to offer the underprivileged the necessary support, the six non-profits will distribute the testing kits to beneficiaries who are most in need, such as workers in caring homes, and those whose occupations require regular testing, including those in healthcare, cleaning, security, and catering etc. Underprivileged, single elderly and those who are chronically ill will also be given the highest priority.
In addition, New World and Prenetics are also donating 50 sets of Circle HealthPods and 500 single-use COVID-19 capsules to the said six non-profits to keep their frontline workers safe. The Circle HealthPod is a rapid, portable, re-usable detection system for COVID-19 that can be used anywhere, and its PCR lab-quality results will show in as quickly as 20 minutes with an accuracy of 98.4%.
New World Staff, Residents of NWD-Managed Buildings to Receive Testing Kits
To offer an extra layer of protection, and to thank its employees for their work during this difficult time, New World is extending the initiative to its Group staff, who will each receive two sets of the COVID-19 rapid test kits. Each household in all New World-managed residential buildings will also receive two test kits for a peace of mind. These will be distributed for free starting from late-February. New World will continue to closely monitor the latest development of the pandemic, roll out new preventive measures when necessary, and join hands with Hong Kong in combating the fifth wave.