The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (August 17) inspected the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre of the Hospital Authority (HA) and the HA Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital to have a better grasp on the HA's treatment and care services for COVID-19 patients, and express his gratitude to frontline healthcare personnel for their efforts in fighting against the epidemic.

     Mr Lee visited the clinical pathology laboratory, command centre and treatment facilities of the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre in the company of the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau; the Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan; the Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan; and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko. Mr Lee also received a briefing from healthcare personnel on the Centre's positioning and day-to-day arrangements for patient flow under the multi-tiered triage and treatment strategy.

     Mr Lee and the officials then visited the HA Infectious Disease Centre and were briefed by the officers in charge on treatment protocols and various support services for COVID-19 patients, as well as the contingency plans of related facilities in response to potential challenges posed by the epidemic. In view of the recent epidemic developments and the surge in the number of hospitalised patients, the HA has formulated contingency plans so that different treatment facilities can be activated within a short timeframe to meet relevant needs.

     Mr Lee said, "I thank all our healthcare personnel for tirelessly fighting the epidemic all along. Braving various risks and pressure over a long period of time, you have strived to conquer different challenges and difficulties, and contributed selflessly to safeguard the life and health of the public. You are the pride of Hong Kong and I salute you on behalf of the Government and the public.

     "Safeguarding Hong Kong's healthcare system is of paramount importance to the anti-epidemic work of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. A key direction of the anti-epidemic policies of the Government is to consistently keep the number of confirmed cases under control, better manage the relevant risks and enhance our capability to respond to contingencies in order to prevent the healthcare system from overloading. In addition, we have to balance the risks of the epidemic against the economic impetus, and safeguard the livelihood of the public and Hong Kong's international competitiveness on the premise of proper risk management.

     "There has been an upward trend in hospitalisation and critical cases among children recently. Without the protection of vaccination, children face a relatively much higher risk of becoming critical cases. Parents should arrange for their children to receive vaccination as soon as possible lest they regret not having done so when it is too late."

Ends/Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Issued at HKT 18:48

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