CE inspects enforcement of measures to prevent imported cases at airport and construction works for temporary hospital
26.12.2020

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (December 26) visited Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to inspect the implementation and enforcement of quarantine measures for inbound travellers by various departments. She then proceeded to the temporary hospital that is under construction on a piece of land adjacent to AsiaWorld-Expo to learn more about the progress of works. Accompanied by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan; the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam, Mrs Lam visited the HKIA Midfield Concourse, which has been used as a place to carry out various checks and virus tests on inbound travellers. She was briefed by the staff members of the Department of Health's Port Health Division on the quarantine procedures handled centrally there, including arranging for inbound travellers to undergo COVID-19 swab tests and wait for negative nucleic acid test results there before being transferred to designated hotels. Mrs Lam noted that the testing agency, BGI, has set up a temporary laboratory at the airport recently to carry out rapid nucleic acid tests for inbound travellers, thereby significantly shortening their waiting time for test results and reducing the risk of infection brought about by the long waiting time. "I have inspected the anti-epidemic arrangements at the airport many times during the pandemic to ensure that we guard the line of defence at this port which connects to overseas places to the best of our ability to reduce the risk of the importation of the virus under the high risk posed by the global epidemic. Over the past year, various units have consolidated their experience and made improvements continuously to implement a series of enhanced measures at the airport to plug the loopholes in every area, while bearing in mind the need to provide better services for passengers. I thank the Airport Authority Hong Kong for its full support and the continuous hard work of staff members working at the airport for their contributions to the prevention of the importation of cases," Mrs Lam said. Next, Mrs Lam and the other officials as well as the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, visited the temporary hospital, which is under construction on a piece of land adjacent to AsiaWorld-Expo, to inspect the progress of works. Following the completion and commissioning of the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo in early October, the temporary hospital is another significant project supported by the Central Government and implemented by the Guangdong Provincial Government as well as the Shenzhen Municipal Government to help in Hong Kong's fight against the virus. Mrs Lam said she was pleased to note that construction of the temporary hospital, which has adopted the technology of modular integrated construction, has been making good progress. The project was topped out last month and can be handed over to the Hospital Authority in late January next year to prepare for commissioning. The temporary hospital can accommodate over 800 beds in negative pressure wards and related medical facilities. "I express my gratitude to the construction team and thousands of staff members of China State Construction for their hard work day and night to contribute to the fight against the virus. The temporary hospital will significantly enhance our capability to respond to the epidemic, while the new technologies introduced during the hospital construction project are of great reference value for our works in future," Mrs Lam said. Mrs Lam also thanked the staff members on the site and extended her holiday greetings to them. She said she hoped to visit the site again next month to witness the completion of the project. Ends/Saturday, December 26, 2020 Issued at HKT 23:50 NNNN