Coronavirus: public hospital heads urge staff to rethink strikes over border closure calls, while Hong Kong health minister sheds tears voicing concern for sector

The heads of public hospitals in Hong Kong appealed to staff on Saturday to refrain from launching any strikes, with the city’s health minister shedding tears as she expressed concern over the industrial action.

Nearly 7,000 hospital employees have threatened a work boycott which could start on Monday, if their demands for the government to close all borders with mainland China are not met amid the coronavirus outbreak.

About 13,000 members of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance will vote on Saturday evening on whether to press ahead with the planned action.

On top of this, more than 380 health care workers, including doctors and nurses at outpatient clinics in public hospitals, signed a joint statement urging stronger measures to combat the virus. Besides border closures, they also suggested allowing only Hongkongers or those with valid work or study visas to enter.

They said they hoped the government would proactively trace and screen all visitors from Hubei province, where the epicentre of the outbreak, Wuhan city, is located.

“These measures are essential to minimise the unexpected surge of demand to our already overstretched medical system,” the statement read. “If the government remains oblivious to the demands of the medical sector, we shall consider all necessary means, including a strike and other industrial actions.”

Henry Fan Hung-ling, Hospital Authority chairman, urged all considering the strike to rethink their decision.

“This is not appropriate,” Fan said on a radio programme. “The rights of innocent patients will be affected. It will be unfair to colleagues who are still going about their duties, and further burden them.”

Fan said he and the authority’s chief executive Dr Tony Ko Pat-sing would on Sunday meet staff mulling the strike action and persuade them not to press on.

Ko said he was worried about the overall situation, given the high demand in health care services prompted by the outbreak, as well as the winter peak flu season.

Hong Kong so far has received more than 760 suspected cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, of which 13 have been confirmed. In mainland China, the number of infections soared to more than 11,700 by Saturday morning, with the death toll at more than 250.

In a separate radio programme, Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee broke down into tears when she mentioned her concerns over the strike.

“I’m worried about the emotions of health care workers,” said Chan, who paused for a few seconds to compose herself. “As well as our services.”

Chan said her biggest concern was the safety of frontline health care staff.

“We must protect all our frontline workers,” she said, noting that she understood they faced immense pressure.

Fan revealed that hospital management had come up with contingency plans to reduce non-urgent services while maintaining emergency ones, if the strike proceeded.

He said that for example, private ward services at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan would be stopped. Patients under Princess Margaret Hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department would also be transferred to North Lantau Hospital.

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung from the University of Hong Kong said the public should not just blame those behind the strike.

“We can understand the worries of frontline staff. Many of them are not afraid of death, but they have many grievances,” Yuen said.

“As there are reasons behind those grievances, we should not criticise too much.”