Residential Clustering of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Cases and Efficiency of Building-Wide Compulsory Testing Notices as a Transmission Control Measure in Hong Kong

Abstract We described the frequency of residential case clusters and the efficiency of compulsory testing in identifying cases using buildings targeted in compulsory testing and locally infected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases matched by residence in Hong Kong. Most of the buildings (4246 of 7688, 55.2%) with COVID-19 cases identified had only 1 reported case, and 13% of the daily reported cases were detected through compulsory testing. Compulsory testing notices could be essential in attempting to eliminate infections (“zero COVID”) and have an impact early in an epidemic, but they appear to be relatively inefficient in response to sustained community transmission. To minimize SARS-CoV-2 transmission throughout high-rise buildings that resulted in residential case clusters, building-wide compulsory tests were mandated during the Hong Kong epidemic. We explore the efficiency of this transmission control policy and the overall frequency of residential case clusters.