AS the epidemic situation has been rapidly escalating in Hong Kong, it has become a top priority that various measures should be taken to suppress the coming epidemic peak, a mainland expert said.

Thus far, two groups of medical experts from the mainland have arrived in Hong Kong and exchanged views with relevant departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and medical workers. They conducted field visits to communities, isolation facilities, medical institutions and some other organizations, and learned about the treatment of COVID-19 patients with mild and severe symptoms.

Feng Zijian, who participated in the supervision of the mainland’s anti-epidemic efforts in Hong Kong, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the mainland expert teams had smooth communication with the Hong Kong side, and conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on the treatment and prevention of COVID-19, as well as the mainland’s relevant experience.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 two years ago, the medical community in Hong Kong has been paying close attention to the successful experience of the mainland in fighting the epidemic, and the medical staff of the two sides have exchanged views in their daily work,” Feng said.

Feng, also Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, believed that the experience of the mainland would play a positive role in Hong Kong’s fight against the epidemic.

Hong Kong reported 26,026 new COVID-19 cases and 83 deaths yesterday, according to local health authorities.

Feng admitted that the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong is rapidly escalating, which will put great pressure on Hong Kong’s medical system.

Feng said that with the full support of the central government, the HKSAR Government is doing its utmost to increase the number of hospital beds. Also, the construction of eight mobile cabin hospitals built with the assistance from the mainland is under way.

Feng said that Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority is optimizing patient assessment and triage, prioritizing medical resources to critical patients to minimize avoidable deaths.

Feng said the top priority for Hong Kong in containing COVID-19 is to take nonmedical public health measures to suppress the peak of the epidemic and reduce the pressure on the medical system as much as possible.

He said the mainland expert teams and Hong Kong health officials and experts discussed the necessity and timing of further tightening public health and containment measures.

“As the epidemic continues to develop, the window period for tightening public health and social prevention and control measures is getting shorter and shorter,” Feng said, stressing that the timing is very important.

Feng said that the current health-care system in Hong Kong is facing the risk of overload, and the shortage of medical staff is the bottleneck. It will be a major breakthrough if medical workers from the mainland were allowed to participate directly in Hong Kong’s fight against the epidemic.

Talking about the future trend of the epidemic, Feng said that the situation is indeed serious, but there are also advantages for Hong Kong in the battle. Firstly, Hong Kong has the full support of the Central Government and the concerted efforts of Hong Kong society. Secondly, people in Hong Kong have a strong awareness of law-abiding and epidemic prevention.

Thirdly, Hong Kong has advanced medical technologies and equipment, and its medical staff are highly qualified. Fourthly, the mainland has rich experience in fighting COVID-19, which Hong Kong can learn from, he said.

(Xinhua)