(Fighting New Coronary Pneumonia) Hong Kong officials urge citizens to take part in universal community testing
China News Service, Hong Kong, August 23. With the strong support of the central government, Hong Kong will launch a universal community testing program on September 1. Except for those with nasopharyngeal diseases who are not suitable for testing and children under the age of 6, all citizens with Hong Kong identity cards can receive the new crown pneumonia virus testing service for free. A number of Hong Kong officials published blogs on the 23rd, calling on all Hong Kong citizens to actively participate in the above-mentioned plan.
The Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Zhang Jianzong said that laboratory testing and monitoring are the key to the epidemic prevention work of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The more people participate in the test, the faster it will be able to find more hidden patients in the community and cut off the chain of community transmission. This will help Hong Kong to contain the epidemic at an early date and bring the economy and society back on track.
"I once again call on the public to actively participate in the popularization plan, cooperate with the government's epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic strategy, protect themselves and protect their families." Zhang Jianzong wrote.
The Financial Secretary of the Special Administrative Region Government, Chen Maobo, said that among the recent confirmed cases in Hong Kong, the death rate of the elderly is significantly higher. Therefore, only by interrupting the invisible transmission chain and containing new infections can the elders be free from health threats and mental fears. Only by cutting off the transmission chain can citizens resume their daily lives and travel, and enterprises and wage earners whose income has been hit hard can hope to get out of the predicament. "Everyone takes one more step and takes the courage to take a little trouble, so that we can get rid of the endless entanglement of the virus and return to normal life together."
Chen Maobo said that in order to avoid the economic collapse due to epidemic control, the policy bureaus of the SAR government have been actively communicating and discussing with relevant industries in the near future, seeking feasible solutions to make economic activities as orderly as possible while risks are controllable.
The Director of the Food and Health Bureau of the Special Administrative Region, Chen Zhaoshi, said that the third wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong has not yet ended, and the risk of large-scale community outbreaks and a rebound of the epidemic is still quite high. The role of virus testing is to find patients with the virus, treat them and prevent the virus from spreading.
"More importantly, the starting point of the universal testing plan is the overall public health and public health, rather than just focusing on individual diagnosis or treatment." Chen Zhaoshi believes that encouraging citizens to participate in universal testing is for all medical professionals and citizens who care about Hong Kong. The rightful meaning. (Finish)