Ceaseless support pumped to HK's anti-pandemic fight

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (third from left) listens to explanations on Saturday about the construction of two community isolation and treatment facilities built with assistance from the mainland at Penny's Bay and Kai Tak Pier in Hong Kong.[Photo/Xinhua]

All kinds of support from the Chinese mainland and local Hong Kong communities streamed into the special administrative region over the weekend to aid the city's fight against the pandemic with funds, professionals and the provision of medical supplies and fresh foods.

On Saturday and Sunday, Hong Kong logged 12,130 new infections, reporting about 6,000 new cases on both days and yielding a total of 52,830 cases.

A second group of mainland medical workers, including four critical care experts and 110 nucleic acid testing personnel, arrived in the city on Saturday.

A mainland construction team began building community quarantine and treatment facilities at two sites, which is expected to offer about 10,000 rooms for COVID-19 patients.

Two sea routes were opened to expand shipments of fresh food. About 31 metric tons of vegetables were delivered to the city on Saturday from the ports of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

About 25 million KN95 masks and 10 million testing kits donated by mainland companies have arrived in the city. The donation of 150,000 boxes of traditional Chinese medicine to treat COVID patients was also received on Sunday, with another 300,000 boxes expected to arrive soon.

Mainland logistics giant Cainiao offered to provide free warehouse space and delivery services in Hong Kong, to help handle the large amount of anti-pandemic supplies from the mainland.

Chairing a third pandemic control coordination meeting in Shenzhen on Saturday, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, vowed to mobilize all resources and forces to help the city get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting's participants discussed the feasibility of opening additional ports to speed up customs clearance of anti-pandemic supplies and personnel, and the construction of makeshift hospitals.

Hong Kong society also responded to the situation. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, the largest charity group in the city, injected on Saturday another HK$100 million ($12.8 million) to step up its support of the anti-pandemic fight, on top of the HK$10 million fund it donated on Wednesday.

Also on Saturday, the Li Ka Shing Foundation announced it was donating HK$30 million to support private hospitals receiving non-COVID patients, in an effort to relieve the strained public-health system.

The Regal Hotels group has committed to offer 3,400 hotel units for quarantine quarters.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor expressed gratitude for the staunch support offered by the nation and local society, adding that she was encouraged by the unity and enthusiasm of local communities in the fight against the virus.

Over the weekend, mainland medical experts making a five-day visit to Hong Kong inspected the city's anti-pandemic facilities for contact tracing, environmental investigation and testing samples.

The ALVA Hotel By Royal, which accommodated the second group of experts assisting Hong Kong, expressed in a social media post its appreciation for the kind assistance and for local medical workers' dedication.

Meanwhile, more than 1 million Hong Kong people voiced support for medical workers battling the raging virus, in an online campaign launched by the local group Safeguard Hong Kong.