HK Can't Turn A Blind Eye To Covid Impact: John Lee

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2022-09-13 HKT 11:26

Share this story

facebook

  • HK can't turn a blind eye to Covid impact: John Lee

Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said his administration could not turn a blind eye to how Covid-19 has affected Hong Kong's healthcare services and high-risk groups, as he warned against complacency.

Speaking before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said the coronavirus situation remains severe, with recent daily infection numbers between 8,000 and 11,000.

"The government cannot turn a blind eye to these two very facts that the hospitals have already cut 30 percent of their services in order to deal with the Covid epidemic, and also, the high-risk groups are under real threats to their health and to their lives, because the vaccination rate for these high-risk groups is still unsatisfactory," Lee said.

"Whilst we are very conscious of ensuring that society can go back to day-to-day life as freely as possible, economy to grow, and competitiveness to be ensured, we have to balance the need with the risks...When the vaccination [uptake] reaches a high level for all age groups, then there will be a lot more freedom and liberty for us to consider."

The CE stressed that people should not treat the coronavirus as if it is flu, saying Covid causes a much higher number of deaths.

Lee also said officials and government pandemic advisers have to be consistent in their messages to the public.

"We welcome, of course, different opinions and we always exchange views freely. But we also want to inform the public of decisions that the government made clearly and precisely, so that there will be no mixed messages, so that people will not be confused with what the government wants to do and the [rationale] behind the government decision," he said.

RECENT NEWS

Eric Trump To Speak At Bitcoin Asia 2025 In Hong Kong

Eric Trump, the second son of US president Donald Trump, is set to speak at the upcoming Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference i... Read more

Hong Kong Digital Banking Survey Reveals User Concerns And Growth Potential

ECHO ASIA, partnering with students from Global Business Studies, CUHK Business School, announced the release of the H... Read more

InvestHK Attracts HK$160 Billion In 2025, With Fintech As Top Sector

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced on 7 July 2025 that it supported over 1,300 overseas and Mainland companies in se... Read more

ZhongAn Online Completes US$500M H Share Placement To Fuel Core Insurance Growth

ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co., Ltd (Zhong An, HKEX:6060) announced the completion of its H share placement on ... Read more

Beyond KYC: How Technology Is Transforming The Fraud Prevention Game

Digital wallets and cryptocurrencies are two of the most targeted channels for fraud this year, according to SEON’s 2... Read more

2025 Hong Kong Fintech Report: What You Need To Know

Hong Kong is hitting the gas when it comes to fintech innovation, regulation and adoption. From the passage of the Stab... Read more