HKSAR chief executive has full confidence in mainland medical staff

HONG KONG, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Friday that she has full confidence in the professionalism of the mainland medical staff coming to assist in Hong Kong's fight against COVID-19.

At the daily press conference on anti-epidemic efforts held on Friday morning, Lam said that the Hong Kong society should be grateful to the mainland medical staff who laid aside their jobs, left their families, traveled a long way to come and serve the Hong Kong people.

Lam said that both the mainland and local medical staff are dedicated to serving COVID-19 patients. Hong Kong's Hospital Authority and the mainland team have agreed to adopt a collaborative model in work with the division of labor approved by both sides.

She said she believes that the mainland medical staff can provide good treatment for Hong Kong's COVID-19 patients, reducing severe cases and deaths.

More than 300 mainland medical staff have arrived in Hong Kong in batches since Monday to support the local fight against COVID-19. They include doctors, nurses, radiographers and administrative staff from public hospitals in the neighboring Guangdong Province.

Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said on Friday that the mainland medical staff have started working at the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo. The medical staff from Hong Kong and the mainland working together there have reached a consensus on clinical nursing tasks and related arrangements.

Meanwhile, various sectors in Hong Kong have continued to make contributions to the anti-epidemic fight. Federation of HK Jiangsu Community Organizations raised 4 million HK dollars (about 511,400 U.S. dollars) worth of supplies on Thursday, which are being distributed to elderly care centers and families in need.

New World Development Company Limited launched on Thursday an online platform named "Share for Good" for faster and better distribution and use of donated anti-epidemic supplies.

Under the guidance and support of Bauhinia Culture Group, Knowledge Magazine jointly launched a charity campaign with a number of quality mainland education platforms so that Hong Kong students can have a variety of online classes at home amid the epidemic.

On Friday, Hong Kong registered 7,966 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 12,116 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.82 HK dollars)