In a press briefing this Wednesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces that more private hospitals will step up their contributions to the city's fight against Covid-19. The government states that 380 patients will be transferred or discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital to give way to its conversion into a Covid-19 facility. Patients will be transferred to other hospitals in the Kowloon area. Non-Covid patients will not be entertained and turned away in Queen Elizabeth’s emergency department. One thousand five hundred beds will be freed up to accommodate Covid-19 patients, and conversion is expected completion by Sunday, March 13.
The government has already asked private hospitals to provide more doctors in treating Covid-19 patients and help man medical facilities. Meanwhile, Hong Kong aims to open Lok Ma Chau medical facility to accommodate emergency care by April.
As for the compulsory mass testing, the government is still planning and considering the provisions, workforce, and the best time to launch the programme. Lam said that it cannot be done overnight and needs to be planned out carefully and consider the public's daily life. She also say that there are enough supplies for daily essentials so there is no need to panic and hoard supplies from the markets.
Currently, experts from China are still in the city to help the SAR with the current situation.
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