Dawn Is Arriving But People Should Hold On: CE

The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, said on Saturday that Hong Kong was seeing the arrival of dawn in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic but people still needed to hold on for some more time.

In an online article, the city’s leader said government officials were extremely worried when the number of new Covid-19 cases reported in the SAR each day exceeded 60 at the end of March, as a large number of Hong Kong residents returned from abroad.

But she said authorities “bit the bullet and resolutely took stringent measures in response to the situation” and successfully prevented local transmission of the virus.

However, she urged people to remain vigilant.

“Though we are a bit relieved to see a significant drop in the number of confirmed cases recently, the government needs to remain alert given the volatility of the epidemic,” she wrote.

She noted that the extension of social distancing measures to May 7 was “a further blow” to affected businesses. And she said the government faced a “three-way tug-of-war” when it came to decision making, as a balance had to be struck between health protection, social acceptability, and the impact on the economy.

“We will continue to listen to the views of the experts and various sectors and constantly adjust the suppress and lift strategy according to the actual situation of the epidemic. The target is to achieve the optimal level of controls at all time,” she wrote.

“I am confident that Hong Kong will come through the epidemic and the economic downturn. As long as we can hold on for some more time, we will soon see a bright tomorrow,” she wrote.