Coronavirus: Beijing steps in to help Hong Kong ramp up testing with support teams and millions of test kits
- Mainland officials and experts will meet their Hong Kong counterparts in ‘coming days’ in Shenzhen
- Mainland authorities also deploying more manpower at border checkpoints to ease crunch in fresh food supplies, sources say
Mainland Chinese officials and experts will meet their Hong Kong counterparts in the “coming days” in Shenzhen to discuss the best way to help the city fight a surging fifth wave of Covid-19 infections.
In a late-night statement on Thursday, the cabinet-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) said the central government was “highly concerned” about the city’s raging fifth wave. A spokesman said the meeting would discuss measures to support Hong Kong’s efforts to contain the outbreak and guarantee mainland supplies to the city.
A Beijing-based source said the meeting could be held as early as Saturday and the mainland was preparing to send “thousands of medical and lab personnel and millions of testing kits” to come to Hong Kong’s rescue.
“The HKMAO, Hong Kong liaison office, National Health Commission, Guangdong and Shenzhen officials will join Hong Kong senior officials to go through Hong Kong’s wish list and decide on the best way going forward,” the source said.
“The first step will be beefing up Hong Kong’s testing capability. Contact tracing, quarantine measures will also be discussed.”
He said the Hong Kong team would be led by Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu.
Mainland authorities are also deploying more manpower at border checkpoints to speed up the processing of cross-border trucks to ease the crunch in vegetable and fresh food supplies, after Shenzhen officials confirmed seven drivers had tested positive for Covid-19 as of Monday.