Jacky Ko Chung-kit prepares to distribute the supplies provided by the central government. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - The central government’s all-around support, especially with ensuring the continual supply of anti-pandemic supplies from the mainland, has addressed the city’s most pressing needs during its worst pandemic outbreak, local residents said on Friday.

Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong, the central government has offered numerous medical supplies, such as masks, protective gear, oximeters, traditional Chinese medicine and rapid test kits.

READ MORE: Mainland comes to Hong Kong’s rescue amid its bitterest COVID-19 fight

The central government has also provided steady supplies of food, assisted with the construction of isolation facilities, and sent groups of medical professionals to the city to care for confirmed patients.

With the nation’s help, the city’s pandemic has been greatly eased, with daily infections decreasing from about 70,000 in early March to fewer than 1,000 on Friday.

Wong Wai-kei at his own private clinic. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

When the most recent wave broke out in late February, one young adult, Jacky Ko Chung-kit, quickly formed a vehicle fleet to distribute anti-pandemic materials to residents.

At the beginning, fleet drivers were in a dire need of protective gear and faced a high risk of infection. They later received the materials donated by the mainland via the Hong Kong Community Anti-Coronavirus Link, and have enjoyed better safeguards in the operations.

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As of April 8, the fleet had sent 90,000 anti-pandemic supplies, more than half of which were offered by the mainland. The fleet made nearly 10,000 trips and served 80,000 local residents. It could not have been done without the strong support of the central government, Ko said.

Bonnie Wen helps pack the government-supported materials for local residents. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Dr Wong Wai-kei’s clinic also suffered a shortage of medical supplies in late February. With the mainland’s donations of medicine and rapid test kits, his clinic has maintained normal operations, and the patients also got proper help. He really appreciated the kindness, he said.

Bonnie Wen, a financial worker, has helped the government pack and deliver batches of rapid tests kits and other medical supplies to residents. She said the donations have greatly solved Hong Kong’s urgent needs in the public health crisis.

She said that Hong Kong schools will resume face-to-face classes soon, and students need to self-test every day. The materials can significantly help underprivileged children, Wen added.

University teacher Han Dan recently received one of the free anti-pandemic bags that the Hong Kong government distributed to all local residents. The bags had masks, TCM, and rapid test kits. Most of the supplies were donated from the mainland. She said that the medical products’ quality is even better than those she buys in local shops.

A family photo of Han Dan. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Han has two older adults and two young children in her family, and she is always worried about getting infected when they line up for the community's rapid tests. After she received the bag, she felt at ease as the whole family could take the rapid antigen tests at home.

She recalled that when mainland medical professionals first arrived in Hong Kong to help take care of patients in hospitals, some local residents doubted and even belittled the effectiveness of their help. Han said that the significantly declining cases is the best rebuttal to those naysayers.

Contact the writer at oasishu@chinadailhk.com