CE: HK to stick to 'dynamic zero infection' plan

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's leader said on Tuesday that the government will stick to its "dynamic zero infection" strategy as the city battles the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the strategy — which Xinhua News Agency has described as identifying new local infections as quickly as possible to cut off transmission chains — is the best approach for Hong Kong to take against the pandemic.

Speaking to the media ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said that the decision was made in accordance with Hong Kong's actual situation, after considering the low vaccination rate among those 70 years old and above, with 500,000 senior residents still unvaccinated. Elderly people are more vulnerable and at higher risk to develop more severe symptoms or die from COVID-19 infections.

If the virus spreads among elderly people, Hong Kong's medical system will also face "unbearable pressure", Lam added.

She promised to further ramp up the city's vaccination rate in pursuit of the "dynamic zero infection" goal. The government will adjust the measures as the outbreak evolves, while Lam also conceded the government could have made the adjustments earlier during the current fifth outbreak.

Looking ahead, she said the government will deploy more resources, including manpower, to enhance the capacity and preparedness to contain the worst outbreak of COVID-19 that the city has ever experienced.

The details of the enhanced capacity will be announced this afternoon. But Lam also stressed there should be a clear consensus in society to recognize that resources — including testing, hospital beds, treatment capacity and manpower — are not limitless. The government is tasked to make the best use of finite resources and achieve targeted results, she said.

Lam expressed her appreciation of the government's contractors to perform large-scale COVID-19 testing in the past few days, up to 200,000 per day, to meet the urgent need of extensive testing in affected communities.

She called on the public to remain vigilant, avoid social gatherings, and comply with mandatory virus-testing more proactively. She appealed to the public's understanding and joint efforts to get through this challenging time.

People are beginning to feel inconveniences in their daily lives, as cross-boundary cargo flow has been affected. The adverse effects have included an ongoing scarcity of fresh vegetables that began several days ago.