Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (centre), holds a press conference on measures to fight COVID-19 with the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee (left), and Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority Tony Ko Pat-sing (right), at the Central Government Offices, Tamar on April 3, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - The exemptions government granted allowing public gatherings for the sixth-term Chief Executive Election are “very well-justified", Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Sunday. 

Speaking during her daily COVID-19 briefing, Lam said Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu considered the importance of the CE Election, “and that it is in the overall interests of Hong Kong,” in granting the exemptions. The nomination period started on Sunday.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said families who were not home when the anti-pandemic bags were distributed in their building could go to the service stations that will be set up on April 6

“I hope people will realize that this is a very important occasion for Hong Kong and we would like to see the prospective candidates having the opportunity to seek sufficient nominations during the nomination period and thereafter, for those who have been validated as a CE candidate, to participate in all sorts of electioneering activities,” Lam said. 

She said the exemptions from the ban on public gatherings of more than two persons and on cross-family gatherings during the pandemic are allowed under the Control of Disease Ordinance.    

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Lam noted that a candidate has to receive sufficient nominations from the Election Committee, which has around 1,460 members.

“Under the current very stringent social-distancing measures…you could imagine if a prospective candidate has to reach maybe five or six or seven EC members, they will be coming from different families, so it would not be possible for the prospective candidate to do that sort of appeal or participation in gatherings to talk about his vision and so on,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lam said said households who want to have an extra anti-pandemic bag could visit the 90 service stations the government is setting up on April 6. 

“We are distributing them on a household basis, but my colleagues and myself are very liberal,” said Lam, who joined in the distribution efforts in Sai Ying Pun on Saturday.  

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“When we delivered a bag, especially to the grassroots families living in buildings where there isn't any building management, we always asked about how many family members in the household. If we were told that they had four or five, then we would give them an extra bag,” she said.

The government aims to distribute the bags to over 3 million households in the city within seven days. Each bag contains 10 rapid antigen test kits, 10 KN95 face masks, proprietary Chinese medicine, anti-pandemic information and greeting cards.

Lam said that those families who were not home when the anti-pandemic bags were distributed in their building could also go to the service stations. 

She reminded members of the public that the government was encouraging everyone to use the rapid antigen test kits in the bags daily from April 8 to 10 to check if they have been infected. 

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“If somehow they have used up their RAT kits which we have provided in the bag, then they are also welcome to go to one of these (service) stations to pick up some extra rapid antigen test kits,” Lam said.

“Ultimately, we want everybody to be well provided and resourced in this situation. The government will consider all means to make available the packs or the RAT kits to those residents in need," she added.