[Global Times reporter Ye Lan] Hong Kong's fifth wave of the epidemic is raging. Under the care of the central government, mainland expert groups and nucleic acid testing vehicles have arrived in Hong Kong one after another to help Hong Kong fight the epidemic.

Personnel and supplies arrive in Hong Kong one after another

  According to Hong Kong's "Oriental Daily" report on the 20th, the second batch of anti-epidemic medical and epidemic prevention teams dispatched by the mainland to support Hong Kong's anti-epidemic work, a total of 114 people, arrived in Hong Kong on the 19th, including 4 critical care medicine experts. They are from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. They are both members of the Guangdong Provincial New Coronary Pneumonia Clinical Expert Group.

This trip is mainly to communicate, analyze and discuss with Hong Kong clinical medical experts on the treatment of severe and critical cases, share the experience of treatment in the Mainland, and carry out corresponding treatment work.

  The 110-member nucleic acid sampling team consists of 4 managers and 106 members from 5 hospitals including Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University.

Zhang Yurun, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Health and Health Commission, was the team leader. He revealed that this visit to Hong Kong is mainly for nucleic acid sampling. The staff are all experienced doctors and nurses, and medical staff who have experience in assisting Hong Kong and supporting other parts of the mainland in the past are the main staff. host.

On the 20th, about 20 nurses from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University arrived at the mobile sampling station in Ma'anshan Amusement Park. They first observed and understood the sampling process of Hong Kong testing, and then they will assist in nucleic acid testing.

  In addition, Shenzhen-based company Yaneng Bio sent 3 senior engineers to Hong Kong as an "advance force" on the 19th to provide technical support for the nucleic acid testing laboratory, air membrane construction and equipment operation, and to carry out nucleic acid testing for the medical and epidemic prevention team after arriving in Hong Kong. Do a good job in the installation and commissioning of equipment and other preliminary work.

According to a Hong Kong media report on the 20th, this time, Yaneng Bio supports products in Hong Kong, including nucleic acid extraction reagents and 40 automatic nucleic acid extraction instruments. The daily extraction capacity of a single device reaches 5,000 to 6,000 tubes, and the daily detection volume exceeds 200,000 copies. .

  Other supplies have also been continuously shipped to Hong Kong.

On the 20th, the first batch of 150,000 boxes of anti-epidemic Chinese medicine donated by the state and some ordered materials arrived in Hong Kong, and the first batch of 25 million KN95 masks provided by the mainland also arrived in Hong Kong.

In addition, in order to further enhance the ability of "early detection, early isolation, and early treatment", the SAR government is procuring more than 100 million rapid antigen test kits, and prioritizing distribution to designated high-risk and specific groups.

On the 19th, the first batch of about 10 million rapid antigen test kits provided by the mainland arrived in Hong Kong.

A spokesman for the SAR government said on the 20th that the supply of mainland vegetables to Hong Kong launched on the 19th through the wholesale markets of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Vegetable Marketing Organization was more than 10,980 tan, or about 664,000 kilograms, about 70% of the normal supply. ; The overall volume of chilled poultry and meat imported from the Mainland to Hong Kong dropped slightly to around 60% on weekdays.

On the 19th, the first batch of 31 tons of vegetables arrived in Hong Kong from Panyu in Guangzhou and Yantian in Shenzhen respectively.

The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Chen Fan, said that additional water routes will be added later to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to Hong Kong.

Rapid conversion of treatment facilities

  Zhang Zhujun, director of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Center for Health Protection, announced on the 20th that there were 6,067 new confirmed cases in Hong Kong that day, of which only 12 were imported cases.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in a video speech on the website of the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association on the 20th that although the fight against the epidemic is not easy, the Hong Kong society is mature and tenacious, and the citizens are actively cooperating. The strong support will surely get out of the predicament.

  In order to cooperate with Hong Kong's national compulsory inspection plan, it is imminent to increase the isolation facilities.

According to Hong Kong's "Sing Tao Daily" report on the 20th, the SAR government began to build new isolation facilities at Penny's Bay and Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on the 19th, and converted them into treatment facilities for mild patients. The contractor is China Construction International Group.

According to the report, about 10,000 residential isolation and treatment rooms will be built in the two cities. The SAR government will also requisition some newly completed public housing estates, rent hotels and renovate some indoor sports centers. Housing the infected.

  Xu Shuchang, a government expert consultant and chair professor of the Department of Respiratory System at CUHK, believes that the best national testing plan is to perform nucleic acid tests 3 times within 10 to 14 days per person, and cooperate with the stay-at-home order.

Hu Dingxu, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Huasheng Diagnostic Center, said that it is effective to complete the test within 3 to 7 days, and it can identify and cut off 90% of the transmission chain in the community.

Vaccination still needs to be stepped up

  Worryingly, the vaccination situation in Hong Kong is still not ideal.

The Center for Health Protection analyzed the 46 deaths as of the 19th under the fifth wave of the epidemic and found that only 6 people were vaccinated.

As of the evening of the 19th, only 42.6% of people aged 80 or over had received the first shot, and only 16% of children aged 3 to 11 had received the first shot.

The results of an online survey conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Public Opinion, commissioned by the Hong Kong Society of Hospital Pharmacists, showed that among the 5-11 year olds, only 24% of the parents surveyed planned to vaccinate their children in the first half of the year, while 62% of the 12-15 year olds And 7% had received at least one dose or planned to receive it in the first half of the year.

  The Secretary for the Civil Service, Nip Takquan, said that the elderly and children are the main targets of the government's promotion of vaccination. More medical staff are being mobilized to give injections to nursing homes, as well as to provide school-based vaccinations for school children. If necessary, more vaccination centers will be opened.

Liu Yulong, chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, said that the peak of the epidemic is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 confirmed cases per day, and children are seriously ill after infection, mainly because they have not been vaccinated.

  A comment published by "Sing Tao Daily" on the 20th stated that in addition to making good use of the central government's support for Hong Kong's epidemic prevention, we must also do our part, strictly abide by various social distancing measures, and get vaccinated or the third booster shot as soon as possible. When necessary, stricter measures such as short-term "foot restrictions" should be taken to quickly cut off the chain of community transmission.

Some commentators said that the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong has exposed some problems in the epidemic prevention strategy. One of them is that the sense of crisis is insufficient and the measures are not decisive enough.

Hong Kong citizens should also consciously cooperate with the government's various anti-epidemic measures, avoid any unnecessary gatherings and gatherings, and actively participate in all testing operations. "With every bit of effort, this tough battle will one day be won."