The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited the Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19 of the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) today (March 12) to learn more about the free Chinese medicine prevention and treatment services provided by the university for COVID-19 patients, their close contacts and carers. She thanked the HKBU for its swift mobilisation in forming a Chinese medicine team and continuous service enhancement, working together with the Government in fighting the virus.

     Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, visited the HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19. She was briefed by the Chairman of the Council of the HKBU, Dr Clement Chen, the President and Vice-Chancellor of the HKBU, Professor Alexander Wai, the Associate Vice-President (Chinese Medicine Development) cum Director of the Clinical Division of the School of Chinese Medicine of the HKBU, Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, etc, on the Free Online Consultation Service for COVID-19 Patients launched by the Chinese medicine team of the HKBU last month. It provides free online advisory and consultation service, as well as Chinese medicine delivery service, for people undergoing home isolation or quarantine, benefitting over 10 000 patients, close contacts and carers so far. In view of the overwhelming response of the public, the HKBU set up the HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19, with its classrooms and lecture theatre transformed, early this month to centrally handle appointments, consultations and medicine delivery in order to serve more people.

     Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to the HKBU for not only providing online consultation service for patients undergoing home isolation, but also actively participating in the Chinese Medicine Services for Residential Care Homes for the Elderly programme co-ordinated by the Hospital Authority (HA) to provide distance Chinese medical consultation service or outreach Chinese medical service for the infected residents and staff members of 30 residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) in order to ease the pressure on public hospitals.

     With the support of the Government, the HA has been promoting anti-epidemic Chinese medicine treatment through various means. They include providing Chinese medicine rehabilitation service for discharged patients and people who have completed isolation; offering Chinese medicine treatment for in-patients; setting up hotlines to provide free Chinese medicine consultation service for those undergoing isolation and members of the public; and taking the lead to mobilise Chinese medical service providers in society, covering universities, the Chinese medicine sector, Chinese medicine associations and non-government organisations, etc, to provide online Chinese medicine consultation service or outreach Chinese medicine service for the infected residents and staff of the RCHEs.

     Mrs Lam said, "Upon the severity of the fifth wave of the epidemic and the highly transmissible Omicron variant, hundreds of thousands of people have been infected. I am pleased to see that treatment and disease prevention with the use of Chinese medicine has been given full play against the epidemic. The full support by the Central Authorities for Hong Kong has included the donation of 450 000 boxes of proprietary Chinese medicines for distribution by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to people in need, and the Government has also procured proprietary Chinese medicines. I am deeply encouraged by the participation of universities, the Chinese medical sector and related organisations in the anti-epidemic team to enhance the application of Chinese medicines, and provide telehealth service, in response to the keen demand of members of the public. The Government will continue to further leverage the advantages of Chinese medicines in the prevention and control of the epidemic and consolidate Chinese medicine as an integral part of the medical system in Hong Kong."

Ends/Saturday, March 12, 2022
Issued at HKT 18:27

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