Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (center) talks to volunteers from the Customs and Excise Department during her visit to the Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre on Wednesday. (PHOTO / INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT)
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday called on the public to stay vigilant, as the city remains in the grip of the novel coronavirus with 410 confirmed infections.
“It is definitely not the time to let our guard down, otherwise the hard efforts of Hong Kong citizens in the past two months will be undone, and the consequences could be dire”, Lam said in an article that reviewed the government’s virus-control efforts in the past month, how the local situation evolved, and how the pandemic developed worldwide.
Hong Kong has outperformed most areas hit by the virus in limiting the outbreak, she said, but there’s a worrying surge in the number of cases, mostly imported.
Twenty-eight confirmed patients have been students returning from the United Kingdom, while 90 percent of new cases in the past two weeks were either imported or close contacts of patients.
Lam expects more cases to emerge in the following weeks, and a large-scale sustained community outbreak may probably occur as more Hong Kong residents return home from some of the worst-hit countries to seek refuge.
Despite an “ever tougher” situation, Lam said her expert advisers are confident that Hong Kong can contain the pandemic with a strengthened containment strategy and the full support of residents.
“Fighting the virus is a long battle and the process is arduous,” she said. “It’s not easy to stay at home for a long period of time without normal activities and social interaction.”
Lam appealed for residents’ understanding and cooperation “at this most critical moment” so as not to let past efforts go to waste. “I thank every resident for shouldering such personal inconvenience to protect the city.”
She also thanked her front-line colleagues, medical staff, experts and researchers who have contributed to the effort, describing them as “anti-epidemic heroes”.
Lam conveyed the same sentiment to officers of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and volunteers from the Customs and Excise Department, who have been setting up quarantine facilities at the Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, during her visit to the center on Wednesday.
As the epicenter of the outbreak shifted to Western countries, the SAR government has banned non-residents from entering Hong Kong and extended the mandatory quarantine order three times to cover all arrivals from overseas. Residents returning from high-risk regions, such as the United States and Europe, are also required to be tested for the virus.
