HONG KONG – President Xi Jinping says he’s highly concerned about the rising number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Hong Kong, and has ordered the special administrative region's (SAR) government to make it its top priority to put things back under control.
According to local newspapers Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, Xi has asked Vice Premier Han Zheng to convey his concern to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, as well as his warm wishes to the people of Hong Kong.The articles published today quoted Xi as saying that the HKSAR government must shoulder the main responsibility of reining in the outbreaks, mobilise all the manpower and resources it has at its disposal and introduce every necessary measure to ensure the safety and health of Hong Kong people, and the stability of society.
The president also said the central government and other local authorities must give their full support and assistance to the HKSAR government.
The articles cited Han as saying that the central authorities and the Guangdong provincial government must respond to Hong Kong's request for help.
This includes boosting Hong Kong's testing capacity, building more COVID-19 isolation and treatment facilities, ensuring the supply of fresh food and other daily necessities, as well as sending over medical experts to give guidance.
The central government had also decided to step up coordination of anti-epidemic work for Hong Kong, which will be led by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) and the National Health Commission (NHC).
It will also involve relevant central authorities and experts, as well as the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments, the articles noted.
The newspapers quoted sources as saying that Guangdong had recently held a string of meetings over how to support Hong Kong and maintain stable supply of resources to the HKSAR.
As of yesterday, Hong Kong's COVID-19 tally stood at 26,670, including 224 fatalities, according to worldometers.info. Hong Kong has a population of 7.5 million.
Macau's COVID-19 tally has remained at 79 for months. No COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Macau. – RTHK, MPD
Screencap of today's front page of Ta Kung Pao with President Xi Jinping expressing concern about Hong Kong's COVID-19 outbreaks - Image courtesy of RTHK
A screencap of Ta Kung Pao's frontpage with President Xi expressing concern 
