Exhibition hall that has been converted to a coronavirus facility is pictured in Hong Kong
Hong Kong:
Seven Chinese health officials were due to arrive in Hong Kong on Sunday, the first members of a 60-person team who will perform widespread testing for COVID-19 in the territory as the global financial center rushes to shut down a third wave of illness.
China’s National Health Commission announced his planned arrival on Saturday.
The team members are from public hospitals in Guangdong province, while a team of six specialists from Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus first appeared, will help prepare part of the AsiaWorld Expo convention center. as a facility for COVID-19 patients.
The move is the first time that mainland health officials have helped Hong Kong in its battle to control the coronavirus.
Some local residents fear that China may use this as an excuse to collect DNA samples for surveillance.
Leader Carrie Lam said on Saturday the former British colony had requested help from the central government due to the resurgence of cases. She said the government was investigating whether everyone in Hong Kong could be tested, local broadcaster RTHK reported on Saturday.
The Chinese territory saw an increase in the number of locally transmitted coronavirus cases in July and introduced a series of tightening measures, including limiting gatherings to two people and imposing face masks in all outdoor public spaces.
Hong Kong has reported around 3,400 coronavirus cases and 33 deaths since January, far fewer than other major cities around the world. But the daily number of new infections has been in triple digits over the past 11 days.
Beijing recently imposed a security law that critics say undermines Hong Kong’s autonomy, which was guaranteed by a “one country, two systems” formula when the city came back under Chinese control from Britain. in 1997.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
