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Editors' Pick|A blind rejection of medical support is suicidal

(File Photo) Hung Hom wet market is undergoing deep cleansing due to a recent COVID-19 cases cluster. (DotDotNews)

By Ang Li

For the first six months of this year, Hong Kong had been doing a relatively good job in epidemic control, with a steady progress into only single-digit new confirmed cases every day. But just as Hongkongers were expecting a triumph over the pandemic, the calm situation was suddenly shattered in July when the daily increase jumped to triple digits, and as of yesterday (Aug. 5), the number of new cases was still at an alarming 85.

The spike in COVID-19 cases has plunged the city into a standstill. The upcoming Legislative Council election has to be postponed, a decision carefully made by HK government after consideration of public health. Local residents are worried about a large scale of community transmission which has already shown signs in HK. They are fearful of going out and some are concerned that Hung Hom wet market will become a new virus hot spot similar to Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan.

Overwhelming HK Medical System 

Over the past 20 days, the number of newly diagnosed cases has exceeded the total number of cases in HK over the past six months. To cope with the worsening situation, some non-emergency medical services have been suspended. But local hospitals are still overwhelmed.

The medical system is already saturated, and not only is the nucleic acid testing capacity far from being able to meet the need for large-scale screening, but medical facilities and isolation sites are also increasingly strained, resulting in a grim situation of prevention and control that is gradually spiraling out of control.

It is revealed that each health care worker has to work in the "dirty team", a medical team dedicated to treatment of COVID-19 patients, for six to eight weeks. Due to the shortage in personnel, some health care workers may have to go back to the general wards directly afterwards, so it is not possible to arrange a "washout" period for isolation, which is extremely risky for both medical providers and other patients.

If we take a look at mainland China, the epidemic prevention and control is quite stable, while economic operations have basically recovered and citizens are slowly resuming normal life.

Mainland China's Medical Support Team 

After all walks of life in the HK community had expressed their willingness to seek assistance from the central government, at the request of the HKSAR government, the central government set up the "Mainland Nucleic Acid Testing Support Team" and the "Mainland's Local Hospital Support Team." Many HK citizens consider this as a "timely response" to the urgent needs of HK at a time when the local medical system is on the verge of collapse. The urgency and necessity of this assistance is no less than the support provided by mainland China to HK during the past financial crisis.

(File Photo) Some members of the Mainland Nucleic Acid Testing Support Team arrived in Hong Kong. (DotDotNews)

The "Mainland Nucleic Acid Testing Support Team" is composed of about 60 clinical and medical professionals selected by the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission from more than 20 public hospitals in the province. Yu Dewen, who was the chief commander of the Guangdong Province Medical Support Team in Wuhan, is the leader of the team.

In addition, the "Mainland's Local Cabin Hospital Support Team" is composed of six experts with hands-on experience in "mobile cabin hospitals" from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, to provide technical support for the conversion of the Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo into a makeshift hospital.

These mainland China's medical personnel have rich experiences in epidemic prevention and control, and there is no doubt about their detection capacity as well as their treatment experience and professionalism.

A Suicide Attempt Full of Lies

However, some pan-dems have ignored the voices of HK people and viciously denigrated mainland China's anti-epidemic support. In the past few days, some anti-government district councillors and individuals protested at the hotels and inspection sites where members of mainland China’s support team were staying and they even harassed those members.

People from the Opposition parties protested against the setting up of a "Fire Eye Lab" in Tai Po. (Screenshot)

The protesters complained about the qualifications of mainland China's experts and fabricated absurd excuses such as "language barrier" and "high cost" in order to smear and spread rumors such as "bringing virus into HK" and "collecting Hongkongers’ DNAs and sending back to mainland China", which is complete nonsense and reveals these people's disregard for science and epidemic prevention as well as their indifference to public health.

"Life cannot blossom brilliantly from lies." These rumors would never stand the trial in the face of truth. Which member of the Mainland Support Team hasn't gone through the tribulations in the front-line of fighting the epidemic? China’s expert medical teams rush to countries around the world since the outbreak, but has "language barrier" ever hindered medical support in any ways? As a matter of fact, a member of the support team said during an interview that all members sent to HK are backbones in the realm and most of them can understand Cantonese.

Time to Unite, Not Divide

The Chinese government has never been stingy in saving lives. In fact, China has provided assistance to more than 80 countries and four international organizations in combating COVID-19. For instance, China, through the Belt and Road Initiative, has helped Bangladesh to strengthen its capacity to fight the epidemic and to recover gradually from the economic crisis.

To support Africa in fighting the epidemic, China has so far sent 148 medical experts to 11 African countries, and introduced as much experience as possible to their African counterparts, which has been highly praised and widely acclaimed by African countries.

China's anti-epidemic supplies for Africa (Xinhua)
China's materials support for Italy's fight against the epidemic (Internet)
China's materials support for Italy's fight against COVID-19 (Xinhua)

The most important task at the moment is to join hands and fight the epidemic together, so that the lives of those threatened by the virus can be taken care of. It has been proven over and over again that the motherland is the greatest strength for HK to overcome challenges. What HK is in need right now is the concerted efforts instead of malicious attempts to politicize the epidemic control and mainland China’s assistance to HK. A blind rejection of medical support at this critical time is no difference to a ridiculous suicide attempt which completely overrides public health.

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