HONG KONG (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam called for calm on Tuesday (March 1) after residents emptied supermarkets, stocking up on produce ahead of reports of compulsory mass Covid-19 testing and rumours of a city-wide lockdown.

Local media reported that compulsory Covid-19 testing would start after March 17, sparking concerns that many people will be forced to isolate and families with members testing positive would be separated.

Mrs Lam, the city's chief executive, appealed to the public “not to fall prey to rumours to avoid unnecessary fears being stirred", with the supply of food and goods remaining normal, according to a statement on Tuesday.

“There is no need for members of the public to worry, they should stay vigilant and pay attention to the information disseminated by the government so as to avoid being misled by rumours.”

Officials are planning to test the city's 7.4 million people, Sing Tao newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources. Officials are targeting to hold three testings within nine days, together with a lockdown to maximise the effect, the report said.

Exemptions would be made for those who buy food, seek medical treatment and maintain societal operations. Hong Kong’s stock market would continue to operate, the paper said.

Mrs Lam had previously said she was not considering a city-wide lockdown.

The Chinese ruled city has seen coronavirus infections surge some 34 times to over 34,000 on Monday from just over 100 at the start of February. Deaths are also climbing, with facilities for storing bodies at hospitals and public mortuaries at maximum capacity.

Hong Kong continues to stick to its Covid-19-zero strategy, the same as mainland China, which seeks to curb all outbreaks at any cost. The Chinese ruled territory has implemented its strictest measures since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

The rules have exacerbated separation fears among many families, with many fleeing ahead of the mass testing scheme.

Mrs Lam, who inspected a mainland Chinese-built isolation centre on Monday, said the team had raced against the clock to “create a miracle” in the city’s construction industry.

The Tsing Yi facility, located in the northwest of the city, would provide around 3,900 rooms for infected people with mild or no symptoms and others who need to isolate, she said.

Meanwhile, the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has raised its travel alert for Hong Kong by two levels, citing a high level of Covid-19 transmission.