Tai Po residents wait to receive the COVID-19 vaccination at a mobile station at Tai Yuen Estate, Hong Kong, March 4, 2022. (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
HONG KONG - Hong Kong should spare no effort in pushing forward with vaccinations, especially for children and the elderly, and should set up a “health code” application with location tracking to control the pandemic, David Wong Yau-kar, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress, said.
With the fight against the pandemic set to become the social norm, it is imperative for Hong Kong, in its medium- and long-term strategy, to establish a rapid, precise and rigorous pandemic prevention and control system to achieve early detection, early isolation and early treatment to minimize the risk of potential outbreaks, Wong said.
Makeshift hospitals and isolation facilities built with the central government’s help should be planned as permanent or semi-permanent emergency facilities that can be flexibly put into use in the event of an outbreak, NPC deputy David Wong said
He set increasing the vaccination rate as soon as possible as the top antivirus priority, especially for children and the elderly, and suggested extending compulsory vaccinations of the third dose to more people, while preparing for the roll-out of the fourth dose.
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Promotion of the universal application of the “health code” with location and tracking functions is necessary for Hong Kong to establish a precise pandemic prevention and control system, as is the importance of an efficient epidemiological investigation team at the governmental level, he noted.
He also stressed the need to strictly enforce the “vaccine bubble” arrangement and to gradually expand the scope of its application, which could further increase the city's vaccination rate and provide more public health safeguards.
Makeshift hospitals and isolation facilities built with the central government’s help should be planned as permanent or semi-permanent emergency facilities that can be flexibly put into use in the event of an outbreak, the deputy said.
“This could ensure that we have sufficient medical and isolation capacity amid the outbreak and are able to receive patients and quarantine close contacts quickly, thereby putting an end to the outbreak in a timely manner.”
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While combating the pandemic is of paramount importance at the current time, how to resume openness is also vital, Wong pointed out.
He suggested that the Chinese mainland conduct more detailed consultations and planning with Hong Kong on carrying out “a certain scale of” border reopening, and give Hong Kong more effective guidance and set out clear standards and requirements.
The SAR government should also make careful plans for the reopening of the border based on its own situation, take preventive measures rigorously to prevent the spread of the virus, and show determination in leading the city out of closure as soon as possible, he added.
