Coronavirus: Hong Kong, mainland officials expected to discuss quick building of new makeshift hospital, other measures to help contain surge in Covid-19 cases
- Ahead of meeting in neighbouring Shenzhen on Saturday, Beijing has already set in motion arrangements to help the city cope, mainland source says
- ‘Hundreds’ of Cantonese-speaking laboratory staff from across the border are in Hong Kong now to boost testing capacity, Guangdong health official reveals

Ahead of the meeting in neighbouring Shenzhen on Saturday, Beijing has already set in motion arrangements to help the city cope, with “hundreds” of Cantonese-speaking laboratory staff from across the border now in Hong Kong to boost its testing capacity, according to a mainland official.
Setting up a makeshift hospital of the type that first popped up in the mainland city of Wuhan at the start of the pandemic more than two years ago was on the cards, a Beijing-based mainland official overseeing Hong Kong affairs told the Post. Its location and staffing issues would be discussed along with other matters such as further ramping up testing.
The makeshift facility, modelled after Wuhan’s “fangcang”, or “square cabin”, would be the second of its kind in Hong Kong, after a similar structure was set up at AsiaWorld-Expo in Tung Chung, also with the help of the mainland.
“Based on Hong Kong’s request, we need to work out with Guangdong province the additional human resources and suitable mobile testing lab equipment to be sent to Hong Kong, without compromising Guangdong’s Covid-19 containment needs,” the source said.