Central government pledges full support to HK in fighting 'toughest COVID battle'

The central government and mainland will offer full support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in its efforts to stamp out the pandemic outbreak, Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu said on Saturday, after attending a meeting with officials and medical experts from the mainland in Shenzhen.

Lee was quoting Huang Liuquan, deputy head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, who presided over the meeting on Saturday.

That same day, Hong Kong reported 1,514 confirmed cases of COVID-19, another new daily case record, as the daily total passed 1,500 for the first time.

Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news briefing that this was the third day this week that daily infections had exceeded 1,000, and described the situation as the "toughest battle" against the virus of the past two years.

At the meeting in Shenzhen, Huang also conveyed concern to residents of Hong Kong from Vice-Premier Han Zheng and the director of the HKMAO, Xia Baolong, who also expressed their admiration for the medical workers, civil servants, disciplined forces and volunteers in fighting the pandemic in the city.

Authorities from Guangdong province also pledged full support, saying that Guangdong and Hong Kong are family, and helping the city to contain the coronavirus is in fact helping Guangdong itself.

Addressing the media on Saturday evening, Lee thanked central government, Guangdong and Shenzhen for their support and care for the city.

Lee said the HKMAO and authorities from Guangdong and Shenzhen will provide support in five areas brought forward by the SAR government, namely sending mainland experts to assist the city to root out and trace infections, propping up the city's testing ability, helping the city to build quarantine and treatment facilities, providing rapid antigen test packages and supplying medical beds, masks and anti-pandemic equipment.

In particular, the central government and Guangdong will ensure the supply of vegetables, fresh food and other daily necessities to the city, Lee said.

Designated task forces on testing, anti-pandemic medical facilities, supplies of medical equipment and other resources will be established soon to help make plans to address these issues, he added.

The SAR government will give priority to the safety of the people and the public to formulate anti-pandemic strategies in accordance with the wellbeing of Hong Kong and the actual situation in the city, Lee said.

Lee also said the government has no plan for a full lockdown of the city, as he still has confidence in the city's pandemic control measures and the situation is not at that stage yet.

Saturday's meeting was attended by officials and experts from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the National Health Commission, the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, and the governments of Guangdong province and Shenzhen.

The Hong Kong delegation was made up of the heads of different SAR government bureaux, and departments involved in the city's anti-contagion work, such as Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee, and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai.