Chief Executive Carrie Lam today joined non-governmental organisations to distribute surgical masks to the elderly and grassroots families in need at various districts.

Mrs Lam visited Tak Tin Estate in Lam Tin to hand out the masks, as well as food, health information leaflets and other goods to elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients living alone.

She then gave out some masks to grassroots families living in the Lok Sin Tong social housing units in Kowloon City where she spoke to residents about their living conditions, and visited some subdivided units nearby.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah and Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong gave out anti-epidemic bags to the elderly and grassroots families in Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui.

Private organisations had donated around 1.6 million surgical masks to the Government. Mrs Lam decided to pass several batches of them to non-governmental organisations for redistribution to the city’s underprivileged, especially seniors.

The Chief Executive appealed to the whole community to stay united and fight the disease together.

“Members of the public can support the Government’s disease prevention and control efforts by staying at home as much as possible and reducing social contacts so as to minimise the risk of the spread of the disease and reduce the consumption of surgical masks,” Mrs Lam said.