Editorial | Virus battle calls for joint action by public and private hospitals
- Vice-Premier Han Zheng has urged the city to take strong and decisive measures against the deadly fifth wave, and these must include cross-sector cooperation
As more people come down with the coronavirus and lose their lives, the need for Hong Kong to stay united in its fight has never been higher.
This includes getting the public and private hospitals working together to make the most of the city’s medical resources and manpower to cope with the crisis.
This will, hopefully, ease the burden on the overloaded public health care system and set a good example for wider cooperation across sectors in combating the pandemic.
The priority for the government to better engage the private sector in the current make-or-break battle was made plain by Beijing yesterday. Speaking to National People’s Congress deputies from Hong Kong, Vice-Premier Han Zheng told the city to take strong and decisive measures.
The state leader also reportedly took issue with reports saying private hospitals had refused to handle Covid-19 patients and hoped that was just “fake news”.
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Hong Kong public hospitals hanging by a thread amid surge of fifth-wave Covid cases
Earlier, officials said there were talks to enhance cooperation that included private hospitals providing outpatient consultations for Covid patients and accepting those with mild symptoms, as well as allowing the transfer of others to help alleviate the overall burden on the public health care system.
