Temporary 800-bed coronavirus hospital in Hong Kong on track for January opening, development chief says

Secretary for Development Michael Wong says construction of the Lantau Island hospital is moving ahead at full speed

Contact tracing app ‘Leave Home Safe’ will also be ready for download on Monday, notifying users of any exposure risk to Covid-19 in public areas

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Work on the temporary hospital continues round the clock. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 7:37pm, 15 Nov 2020Updated: 9:59pm, 15 Nov 2020

A new, temporary 800-bed coronavirus hospital near Hong Kong airport is almost half completed and will be ready to open its doors in January as expected to cope with possible future waves of Covid-19 cases, the city’s development chief says.

Michael Wong Wai-lun made the pledge about the makeshift facility in an article on his official blog on Sunday, while innovation minister Alfred Sit Wing-hang said the government would on Monday launch a contact tracing mobile app, “Leave Home Safe” – another tool aimed at containing Covid-19.

Other top officials also vowed to step up the city’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, setting a target of zero daily local infections and committing to avoid the double whammy of a Covid-19 fourth wave and the winter flu season.

An artist’s impression of the completed facility. Photo: SCMP

Wong said construction of the makeshift hospital, on a 3.2-hectare site next to AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport on Lantau Island, was moving ahead at full speed.

“The temporary hospital project only allows for four months to build it. The schedule is tight. At present, there are more than 10 cranes operating, and over 2,000 workers in three shifts working around the clock at the site,” said the secretary for development, who inspected the site with other officials on Tuesday.