Beijing’s ‘support on testing, isolation will help HK beat virus’
Beijing’s support in Covid-19 testing and the construction of isolation facilities will help Hong Kong to win the war against the coronavirus, the city’s No 2 official has said as he sought to reassure residents amid a raging fifth wave of infections.
Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu, writing on his official blog yesterday, also urged residents not to be confused by rumours and misconceptions about the government’s coming compulsory testing programme.
“We are listening to people’s views and making plans in accordance with Hong Kong’s actual situation,” he said. “During the programme, we will ensure a stable and sufficient supply of food and necessities. Pay attention to official information; don’t believe in misinformation that may emerge on social media … and we will surely defeat the virus as long as we stay united.”
Lee’s comments came as former health minister Ko Wingman told the Post the city should kick off its universal testing programme as soon as possible, with a lockdown of nine to 21 days.
Sources previously told the Post Hong Kong would open up to 500 Covid-19 testing centres as mainland personnel had arrived in the city to help with its universal screening drive. The measures could begin from March 26, but the exact timing and details of a lockdown to enable such an exercise have yet to be fixed.
Ever since word emerged of a possible lockdown, Hongkongers have rushed to supermarkets, stores and pharmacies to snap up frozen meat, bread, medicine, baby food and other essentials, with shelves swept bare as soon as they are restocked.
Medical experts such as David Hui Shu-cheong had also suggested that compulsory universal testing “should be conducted when infection numbers come down”, otherwise the city might not have enough isolation facilities for all the cases identified.
In his blog, Lee said with mainland support, work on nine isolation facility projects was under way making more than 50,000 beds available by April. The biggest is located in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, near the city’s border with Shenzhen.
“To speed up the project, we will build temporary bridges to connect the loop area with the Shenzhen border, so workers and materials can move point to point from Shenzhen to the construction site. This can avoid the project from being delayed by clearing procedures and anti-epidemic measures,” he said.
“With the increase in isolation facilities and an effective mass testing scheme, Hong Kong will be empowered to turn the upwards epidemic trend around, contain the pandemic, and achieve zero infection.”
Separately, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote on his official blog that the finance industry had made contingency plans to ensure banking services would not be hindered by universal testing or the pandemic.
This can avoid the project from being delayed by clearing procedures
CHIEF SECRETARY JOHN LEE
Meanwhile, Ko, who headed the Food and Health Bureau from 2012 to 2017, said while coming measures would cause a disruption to society, they would to a large extent terminate transmission chains. Hong Kong could then continue with the “dynamic-zero” approach, which should not be easily given up, he added.
Ko, currently in Beijing for the annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top advisory body, said he had submitted his proposal to the CPPCC, suggesting that Hong Kong impose a lockdown soon and carry out the universal testing scheme.
Ko said he was concerned that if universal testing was postponed until next month, most residents would have been infected with Covid-19, and the city would be in “de facto coexistence” with the coronavirus.