Chief Executive John Lee today inspected the North Lantau Hospital Infection Control Centre and the Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital to comprehend the Hospital Authority's treatment and care services for COVID-19 patients.

Mr Lee visited the clinical pathology laboratory, command centre and treatment facilities of the North Lantau Hospital Infection Control Centre and received a briefing on its positioning and day-to-day arrangements for patient flow under the multi-tiered triage and treatment strategy.

He then stopped by the authority’s Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital where he was updated on the treatment protocols and various support services for COVID-19 patients as well as the contingency plans of related facilities in response to potential challenges posed by the epidemic.

In view of the recent epidemic developments and surge in the number of hospitalised patients, the authority has formulated contingency plans so that different treatment facilities can be activated within a short time frame to meet relevant needs.

Mr Lee said: "I thank all our healthcare personnel for tirelessly fighting the epidemic all along. Braving various risks and pressure over a long period of time, you have strived to conquer different challenges and difficulties, and contributed selflessly to safeguard the life and health of the public.

“You are the pride of Hong Kong and I salute you on behalf of the Government and the public.”

Concerning the Government’s anti-epidemic work, the Chief Executive said a key direction of its policies is to consistently keep the number of confirmed cases under control, better manage the relevant risks and enhance the capability to respond to contingencies to prevent the healthcare system from being overloaded.

“In addition, we have to balance the risks of the epidemic against the economic impetus, and safeguard the livelihood of the public and Hong Kong's international competitiveness on the premise of proper risk management.”

Referring to the upward trend in hospitalisation and critical cases among children, Mr Lee stressed that without the protection of vaccination, children face a relatively much higher risk of becoming critical cases.

“Parents should arrange for their children to receive vaccination as soon as possible lest they regret not having done so when it is too late."