With the joint efforts of all sectors of the community and the civil service, the fourth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic has been easing gradually. That said, we must be cautious and on constant alert against any rebound.
The fight against the virus over the past three months has been most challenging. For instance, the severity of the epidemic situation has led the Government, for the first time ever, to exercise the power under the legislation to make a “restriction-testing declaration” under which people within the specified “restricted areas” are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. These testing exercises in the “restricted areas”, which cannot possibly be undertaken by any department alone, require inter-departmental deployment of staff within a very tight time frame. The fact that we have necessitated 12 000 man-shifts of civil servants from 40 bureaux and departments in the exercises conducted earlier has illustrated the case. While undoubtedly the cooperation of the public has contributed to the smooth implementation of such exercises, the active participation, flexible deployment and quick response of colleagues are also indispensable. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the colleagues in different positions for their efforts and dedication.
After the Lunar New Year holidays, the Government has gradually relaxed the social distancing measures; government departments have successively resumed normal public services; and venues have reopened. Nevertheless, to prevent a rebound of the epidemic, we have to stay vigilant, keep maintaining good personal hygiene, seriously implement the anti-epidemic measures and must not let our guard down.
Extensive and large-scale testing is a key component of the Government’s overall anti-epidemic strategy. Since last year, the HKSAR Government has arranged testing on a regular basis or by random sampling for targeted groups, including the high-risk groups, the staff of critical infrastructure services and the high-exposure groups. The staff of a number of government departments are covered as well. To protect the health and safety of all colleagues and their families, we have earlier instructed the Heads of Departments (HoDs) to arrange another round of targeted group testing for colleagues who are on the frontline and engaged in high-risk duties. Furthermore, we have issued guidelines to the HoDs, stipulating that if a government staff member is confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, all staff working on the same floor and those who have worked with the staff member concerned must undergo testing as soon as possible within a prescribed period. The managing department of a government building will also arrange testing for colleagues if there are two or more confirmed cases in that building. With the Government’s full resumption of normal public services from 18 February 2021 onwards, I believe that all colleagues, for the good of yourselves and others, will come forward to take the test for early identification of asymptomatic patients and elimination of the risk of an epidemic rebound.
Swift and accurate contact-tracing is also pivotal in breaking the transmission chains. It is therefore incumbent upon the Government to actively promote the use of the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app. After a more than two-week trial run of the app in some government buildings, starting from 1 March, all government employees and members of the public are required to use the “LeaveHomeSafe” app or register their names, contact numbers and the dates and times of their visits before entering any government buildings and offices. At the moment, the app has been downloaded more than 2.9 million times. For the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app to play its part, the support of the general community is essential. In this connection, I would like to ask all colleagues to render proactive support as always and patiently assist members of the public who need help in using the app.
With the COVID-19 rampaging across the globe, vaccination offers a ray of hope in winning this battle against the virus. Getting vaccinated is an important step to protect yourself, your family and friends, also to reduce the risk of community outbreaks. Last Friday, the first batch of one million doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived in Hong Kong. The Chief Executive, together with the Principal Officials, received the Sinovac vaccine on Monday (22 February). The vaccination process was simple and smooth without any discomfort. Being Principal Officials, we aim to reassure the public by taking the lead in getting vaccinated, and I encourage all colleagues to get vaccinated early too to protect yourselves and others.
It paves the way for herd immunity if most of the population in Hong Kong are vaccinated. Are we in a position to relax the restrictions under various anti-epidemic measures on visits to residential care homes, frequency of testing, quarantine arrangements, social distancing, travelling and reopening of ports? We have invited experts to look into these matters. We will of course act, in consultation with the experts, in the light of the developments of the pandemic and on the premise of protection of public’s health.
To prepare for the setting up of nearly 30 Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) in 18 districts, the Civil Service Bureau invited Permanent Secretaries and HoDs early this month to nominate civil servants for performing administrative support duties at CVCs. We have received over 1 000 nominations for the undertaking of different duties. The active response of colleagues is encouraging, and is indeed a manifestation of their commitment as the backbone of the Government.
Five CVCs and 18 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority will begin to provide vaccination of Sinovac starting tomorrow (26 February) and over 1 500 clinics will join to provide the vaccination service starting next week. As for the BioNTech vaccines, we expect that they will arrive in Hong Kong shortly. Upon proper receipt and storage, the BioNTech vaccines will be available for use at the CVCs soon. I look forward to the active support of all colleagues for the Government-led COVID-19 Vaccination Programme with a view to encouraging the community to get vaccinated and thereby lifting Hong Kong out of the mire of the pandemic.
Vaccination will bring the anti-epidemic work into a new stage. To win this battle against the virus, we need the support of our colleagues to take the lead in participation. I therefore call upon all of you, together with your family members, to make a booking for the vaccination in accordance with priority order. Let all civil servants act in unity with the community to get Hong Kong through the pandemic, revive our economy and restore our lives to normalcy. Thank you for your support!