Coronavirus: Hong Kong leader grilled by lawmakers, says she does not have ‘crystal ball’ to predict when mass testing should be rolled out
- Legislative Council question and answer session came two days after Lam announced the contentious plan to implement compulsory mass testing would be suspended
- Outspoken lawmaker Junius Ho accuses government of failing to save lives during fifth wave of infections
Hong Kong’s leader has told lawmakers “she does not have a crystal ball” to predict when a now-postponed universal Covid-19 screening exercise should be launched, while rebutting their claims that the government has been flip-flopping on anti-pandemic measures amid a rampant fifth wave of cases.
Grilled via videoconferencing on Wednesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also revealed the government preferred to procure more oral drugs and build isolation facilities so stringent social-distancing restrictions could be eased as the public’s tolerance had peaked.
The Legislative Council session came two days after Lam announced that the contentious plan to implement compulsory mass testing would be suspended, while strict anti-epidemic measures would begin to be relaxed from next month if there was no alarming rebound of cases.
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Covid-19: Hong Kong to open schools, lift flight ban, cut quarantine time and suspend mass testing
Since Lam’s last appearance in Legco back in January, the city has suffered an Omicron-fuelled explosion of infections with more than 1.07 million confirmed cases and over 6,000 deaths.
Outspoken lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu said he was furious and accused the government of failing to save lives. He asked Lam whether the government could carry out universal testing in mid-April before lifting social-distancing measures.
“Your anti-pandemic policies are very inappropriate,” he said. “Are we seeing an end of our fifth wave, and that’s why you are lifting the social-distancing measures on April 21? If yes, then we should carry out a screening exercise in mid-April.
