HK is not ‘lying flat’ over Covid: Liang Wannian

A senior mainland health official on Tuesday expressed support for Hong Kong’s suspension of a plan to test all residents for Covid-19, saying it was a decision made in accordance with the city’s latest pandemic situation.

Liang Wannian from the National Health Commission told a news conference in Beijing that putting the plan on hold doesn’t mean the SAR is relaxed about the coronavirus outbreak or is “lying flat”.

He said the best time to carry out universal coronavirus testing is at the beginning of an outbreak to identify all sources of infections and stop their transmission, or towards the end of the outbreak to achieve the aim of dynamic zero Covid.

He added that Hong Kong also needed to consider whether it had the ability to isolate patients and trace their close contacts during a mass testing exercise.

The expert said Hong Kong’s priorities should be protecting the elderly, as well as reducing infections, serious complications and deaths from Covid-19, being as the number of cases remains at a high level.

The city should focus its resources on saving lives, he said.

Commenting on the situation on the mainland, Liang reiterated the need for China to stick to its dynamic zero Covid policy, saying it is an effective and suitable way to control the pandemic.

He said China is capable of maintaining the policy because of the understanding and support of its citizens, adding that they have been proactively taking part in the fight against the pandemic.