Hong Kong must brace for ‘catastrophe’ if coronavirus infections explode into the hundreds daily, health authority chief warns
- Hospital Authority chairman Henry Fan says city has five plans prepared, each with a backup, and the final one would be to address doomsday scenario
- Among contingency measures are review of self-sufficiency in protective gear, and more quarantine facilities, as city ‘cannot let its guard down’
Hong Kong has no room to let its guard down and must brace for a “catastrophic” scenario should the number of daily coronavirus infections surge into the hundreds, the city’s health authority chief has said.
One measure would be a review on self-sufficiency in protective gear in the long run, Hospital Authority chairman Henry Fan Hung-ling said on a Saturday radio programme.
“After the pandemic began, the Hospital Authority prepared a set of contingency plans,” Fan said, adding there were five such proposals. “The aim was to reserve isolation facilities for those who needed them most. Although the situation has eased recently, we are still actively preparing backups [for worse scenarios].”
On the fifth and final plan, Fan said: “It is to prepare for catastrophic scenarios in case Hong Kong observes an explosive rate of infections, say, a surge of hundreds or even more than a thousand cases per day, when all hospital beds are full.
Hong Kong should be able to produce some types of protective gear locally, such as masks and face shields
“What would we do by then? Of course ... we hope we do not need to use this blueprint eventually, but we still have to be prepared nonetheless.”
Fan, a former executive councillor and businessman, also said the authority planned to review the supply of protective gear, including masks and face shields in the long run.
“Hong Kong should be able to produce some types of protective gear locally, such as masks and face shields. Although the costs will likely be higher than those made in mainland China, we should still at least consider that,” he said.
Fan added authorities had been inspecting potential government sites to set up community quarantine facilities for recovering patients, and this would be far away from residential areas.
“First, the facility should not pose any harm to the safety of the community. Secondly, it should be possible for patients to be safely transferred to the facility … and third – safety for medical workers,” he said.
Health experts want mandatory coronavirus testing for all arrivals
He added that such facilities should be able to separate recovering patients from others under quarantine.
Dr Tony Ko Pat-sing, chief executive of the authority, said on the same programme that non-essential medical services which were earlier suspended during the pandemic would gradually resume if the number of new infections remained low.
“Diagnostic radiology services such as CT scans and MRI ... could for instance resume, as patients don’t need to be crowded into one room,” Ko said while apologising to those affected.
“Some patients had been affected as a result of the strike, which was a severe incident. As management, we must follow-up according to the law and employee regulations. The Hospital Authority is after all a public organisation,” he said.
