Mainland vows to continue helping HK in its fight against virus

Mainland officials and medical experts will continue assisting Hong Kong in battling the latest wave of COVID-19 epidemic hitting the special administrative region and cooperate with their local counterparts closely, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

The virus is currently spreading fast in Hong Kong, with cases rising at an accelerating speed, said Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the commission's Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control.

The mainland has already donated eight fangcang shelter hospitals — temporary isolation and treatment centers mainly receiving mild cases — to Hong Kong as workers are racing to complete the work, he said.

Meanwhile, two batches of mainland medical experts have arrived in Hong Kong and held smooth communication with local officials and healthcare workers, Wu said.

On Friday, the commission held a video conference with the Hong Kong government, during which mainland experts shared their experiences in treating COVID-19 cases, and HK experts said they were willing to actively learn from the experiences.

"The discussion was profound and went into details," said the commission official, adding that mainland experts will continue to offer support to boost Hong Kong's disease control and treatment capacity.