Coronavirus: pay deductions for Hong Kong medical workers who joined strike, but no further action by hospital chiefs
- Medical workers in February had called on the government to close the border with mainland China, where the coronavirus was wreaking havoc
- Hospital Authority chief Henry Fan issued an internal notice on Friday evening saying body would recover wages overpaid to workers involved
The strike, which took place when Covid-19 cases first hit Hong Kong, was organised by medical workers who called on the government to close the border with mainland China, where the coronavirus was wreaking havoc, saying it was the only effective way to keep the epidemic at bay.
At the time, the city had reported 15 confirmed cases. The government had closed six of its 15 border checkpoints and refused entry to travellers arriving from Wuhan, the original epicentre of Covid-19.
But it resisted calls to ban all arrivals from the mainland and fully close border checkpoints.
The strike, organised by the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, caused serious disruptions at public hospitals, forcing surgeries to be cancelled and the postponement of patients’ appointments.
