Advertisement
Coronavirus: time to ‘hand over responsibility and power’ to Hongkongers in fight against Covid, health chief says amid eased curbs
- Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau assures public that rising caseloads will not overwhelm healthcare system
- He insists that the dropping of nearly all social-distancing measures is not a rushed decision
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
26
It is time to “hand over responsibility and power” to Hongkongers in the fight against Covid-19, the city’s health minister has said while insisting residents have become more familiar with the coronavirus.
Advertisement
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau on Thursday sought to reassure the city amid latest changes that marked Hong Kong’s most drastic round of eased pandemic curbs. Lo said infections would not overwhelm the healthcare system and that the lifting of quarantine for close contacts would release 500 workers to cope with the surge in cases.
Defending the government’s move to drop the vaccine pass, test mandates for travellers and most social-distancing measures, the health chief said it was not a sudden decision and he was not “giving up” on epidemic control.
“The caseload is no longer a very important part of the current situation. Everyone is more familiar with how to deal with the virus,” Lo told a radio programme on Thursday.
Advertisement
Advertisement