Have been busy for planning to move back to Canada, until now have time to write some blog. This time I am not going to discuss technical topics, instead want to share a bad experience on COVID test in Canada BC.

As I arrived Canada before 5 July, so I needed to go thru' the 3 days hotel quarantine (I am not going to complaint about how expense of the hotel fee, as its already being complained by so many people) and 14 days quarantine period. What I want to share is about the experience of day 8 home kit test. I believe my case is not alone, most likely some other people are also suffering.

What happen is that, I and my wife have completed the home test (virtually monitored by someone over the Web online which is already frustrating. As first time, I waited for over an hour with nobody dial in, then I need to rebook the virtual appointment) on the day 8 which is on Monday. Then Fedex picked up both kits on Tuesday (day 9) and delivered to the lab on Wed morning (day 10) by using the Fedex tracking system.

On Thursday morning, I received the result and report, but my wife didn't. As the official website of the lab (the company call LifeLabs) mentioned that result should be notified by Email within 48 to 72 hours after picked up. So after waiting for one more day and still not getting the result, we called the LifeLabs on Friday. As usual, you need to wait for at least an hour until somebody answer your call. What the agent said, as its over 72 hours, she will add a remark to escalate the case to LifeLabs and urge them to examine the kit ASAP, and ask us to wait for the result.

On Sat (day 13), there was nothing coming up, we called again. After waiting another hour, an agent pickup the call and what she said is "in progress", should be completed in couple of hours, probably should have the result later in the day or worse case tomorrow morning.

Once again, just got another disappointment. Nothing coming up on Sun morning. As its the last day of quarantine, the LifeLabs should give my wife result, so that she can end the quarantine period. We called again, the agent pickup the phone after more than an hour, what she said "I got the result", but my wife didn't get an Email notification, so she immediately send an Email to my wife. We open the Email and immediately check the result which is negative. So happy and dropped the call.

Wait a minute, its not the end of the story. I checked the report in more detail. Oh Shit! She send us the day 1 test result (which we already have it long long time ago). So waste another hour to call, another agent picked up, he said that he will send an Email to Lifelabs and push them to tell him the status, then he will call back us.

"He promise to call back", will you trust? No result, no call back, nothing coming up even on Monday morning (day 15). Once again, frustrated. In fact, yesterday I also called the ArriveCan to ask what happen if the day 8 result never comes back, can my wife go out after 14 days quarantine period. You know what? He said, he can't answer this question, he gave me another number to call and disconnected. I checked the number, you know what number is it? I believe some of clever reader already got the answer. Yes, its the phone number of LifeLabs.

Then we checked the website, what it says unless you get a negative result of day 8 test, you need to stay 14 more days. Its really ridiculous and unreasonable. My wife have completed what should be done officially, its the fault of the Lifelabs who didn't perform their task in time, but let us suffer.

I have a preparation that they may lose the testing kit (it seems that it's possible), so I re-order the testing kit for my wife on day 15. Surprisingly, on day 16 morning, my wife get the result from the Email, really thank God. Eventually we can go out. Though its late for 1 day, I believe we are not the worse case!

You may think that its the end of the story. Actually its not, its just the beginning, what? The purpose of writing this blog is not only complaining about the LifeLabs and also the government doesn't perform a monitoring job. The most important is that I have the RIGHT TO COMPLAINT.

Yes, you may wonder RIGHT TO COMPLAINT should be a nature thing for everyone. I tell you that as a person who just left Hong Kong and return to Canada, I have the responsibility to tell the world what's happening in Hong Kong. People in Hong Kong are losing the right to complaint, and even lost the right to tell the truth (even worse right to KNOW the truth).

Since the National Security bill passed last year, any words that you complaint the Government, the police, not to mention the one who really govern the Hong Kong Government, you may have the risk of offending the National Security bill. Without evening judged by the court, you may already be detained. (Because of this, I've removed 2 of my previous blog entries that has the title "Shame on Hong Kong Government and Hong Kong Police").

Freedom of speech is no longer valid in Hong Kong, you can't even say  "Glory to Hong Kong" which will be treated as against the CCP, against the country. Or something like "Cheer up Hong Kong" (Chinese direct translation is somewhat like "Add Oil to Hong Kong") is also prohibited. Not sure is it because China is so fragile that just by saying something can risk the security of the country.

Finally, following Chinese (to be more specific should be Cantonese) poem vent my feeling about leaving Hong Kong:

離别香江走遠方，
親友送别祝安康;
雖有難捨意離去，
他日重逢見榮光。

To translate in English:

Leaving Hong Kong to a far place,
Friends and relatives farewell with blessing,
Feeling hard, yet still decide to leave,
Glory comes when we meet again.

Yes, glory to my Lord and glory to Hong Kong, revolution of our times. May the God bless Hong Kong and the real HongKongers.