John Lee Sees No Need For Independent Covid Probe

Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said he sees no need to conduct an independent inquiry into the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, though officials will review and learn from their experiences.

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung last week called for an independent probe as a way to prepare for future pandemics. But speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said his administration had in fact always been reviewing its infection-control measures.

Lee said there was no agreed best practice or best way to deal with a situation such as the pandemic, adding: "I agree we need to take stock of experience so we could deal with new threats in the future in a more effective manner.

“In the past few months, since we took office, we’ve been reviewing the various measures. We want to make sure that our government is able to respond to new threats and new changes,” Lee added.

Looking ahead, Lee said “the best and most effective approach” is for different government departments and the Hospital Authority to keep learning from experience as the epidemic evolves.

“Effective measures will be included into their guidelines and will become regular measures. They will also keep reviewing and updating their guidelines,” he said.

The CE also said authorities would keep some of its community isolation facilities for emergency use, while the deputy financial secretary, Michael Wong, will be tasked with working out how to make good use of the rest of the facilities as Hong Kong gradually returns to normalcy.

The government stopped issuing isolation notices to people with Covid on Monday.