Covid-19: First of 1,000 medical workers from mainland China arrive in Hong Kong as death toll sets record

Record 249 Covid-19 patients die in past 24 hours, but city leader says vaccination campaign that lagged for months contributed to fatalities

Team of 75 mainland doctors, nurses and other health professionals will treat patients, but union warns difficulties in communication have already arisen

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Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Chui Tak-yi (left) welcomes Professor Yu Tao (second left) and his team at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point on Monday. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Elizabeth Cheung,Gigi ChoyandSammy Heung

Published: 12:00pm, 14 Mar 2022Updated: 2:36am, 15 Mar 2022

The first batch of medical professionals sent from mainland China arrived in Hong Kong on Monday to help battle a surging wave of Covid-19 infections, as the city’s single-day death toll set a record.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor pointed to the vaccination campaign that lagged for much of the past year as contributing to the death rate, which is the highest in the developed world, while a top official at the Hospital Authority (HA) said the focus now was on treating patients.

A record 249 Covid-19 patients died in the past 24 hours and 37 others in the days before – but were only reported on Monday due to a backlog – taking the overall tally to 4,279.

When asked about the figures, Lam insisted her government had “put in all the necessary effort in order to keep Hong Kong people safe”.

Hong Kong officials and members of the arriving medical team hold up a banner saying Hong Kong and the mainland will work together to fight the virus. SCMP Pictures

“We have spent over one year to promote, to encourage, to coerce people to take the jab, but unfortunately, partly because of the low infection rate in the last year or so, and partly because of anxiety and worries and so on, we have not achieved a high rate of vaccination, especially amongst the elderly, particularly amongst elderly in elderly homes,” she said.

“There are a lot of things in our city that should be revisited and we should take a critical look in order to prepare us for a future public health crisis.”