CS views new quarantine units
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung (second right) speaks to contractor staff during a visit to the Junior Police Call Permanent Activity Centre at Pat Heung to inspect the newly developed quarantine units.
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today visited the Junior Police Call Permanent Activity Centre at Pat Heung to inspect the newly developed temporary quarantine units that will soon start operation.
Mr Cheung toured the new quarantine units and received a briefing from technical staff on how they managed to build 120 units in about two months and sped up construction through the application of the modular integrated construction method.
He was pleased to see that the works which started in February were completed earlier this week. Together with about 80 quarantine units refurbished from existing quarters that started operation in late March, the JPC Centre provides more than 200 quarantine units in total.
Mr Cheung said: "Although the number of new confirmed cases in Hong Kong has subsided these days, the community must stay vigilant, given that virus infection does not know any boundaries and that the pandemic remains severe and developments are hard to predict.
“The Government will keep up its anti-epidemic effort under the three key principles of responding promptly, staying alert to the situation and working in an open and transparent manner, including the provision of additional quarantine units, so as to cope with the possibility of a sudden turn in the epidemic situation."
He also noted the quarantine centres set up by the Government are effective in preventing community outbreaks, and of the 4,500 or so people who have been accommodated at the centres since January, 84 showed symptoms during their stay and were confirmed to have contracted the COVID-19 virus.
Mr Cheung added that to safeguard against a sudden turn in Hong Kong's epidemic situation, the Government had announced that the measures to regulate catering business premises, scheduled premises and prohibit group gatherings would be extended by two weeks starting from today.
He urged members of the public to be accommodating and self-disciplined, and continue to comply with the measures for maintaining social distancing to fight the epidemic together.