HONOG KONG — China’s central government will give full support to Hong Kong as the city’s worsening outbreak strains health care resources and threatens its COVID-Zero strategy, Chief Secretary John Lee said after a meeting with mainland officials to ask for urgent pandemic support.
Lee said Hong Kong had asked the mainland for help on several fronts including for Chinese experts to help the city analyze virus strains, help build quarantine and isolation facilities, and supply tests kits and virus equipment to Hong Kong. The Guangdong government among others expressed their willingness to provide support, Lee said in a press conference late Saturday after the meeting in Shenzhen earlier in the day.
Beijing will take active measures to ensure there is a stable supply of daily necessities including fresh produce, he said. Expert task forces including one on quarantine and another on medical supplies will be set up. Lee also reaffirmed a commitment to its COVID-Zero policy, while stating there are no plans for a citywide lockdown.
“I believe with their help we will be in better position to contain the outbreak,” said Lee, who will be coordinating these efforts.
Hong Kong reported another day of record new infections, adding more than 1,500 cases on Saturday. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has vowed to stick to the China-aligned strategy of eliminating the virus, though her government has ruled out a mainland-style lockdown.
The surge in COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed testing facilities and caused a shortage of hospital and quarantine beds, as the city tries to isolate every person who tests positive. Some patients have recently been moved from hospitals to the government’s spartan Penny’s Bay quarantine camp, while other asymptomatic cases could soon be admitted to hotels.
This isn’t the first time Hong Kong asked China for assistance. Mainland officials helped Hong Kong build a makeshift hospital for mild COVID-19 cases and provided support for a voluntary citywide campaign that tested more than half a million people in August 2020.
