The mainland, Hong Kong and Macau signed a cooperation agreement yesterday aiming to strengthen their joint response mechanism for tackling infectious disease, the Macau Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement last night.
The agreement was signed in Hong Kong yesterday by top officials from the three regions’ respective health authorities.
According to the SSM statement, a five-member delegation led by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U travelled to Hong Kong yesterday to sign the deal.
Members of the delegation also included SSM Director Alvis Lo Iek Long and Leong Iek Hou, who heads the SSM Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Ao Ieong’s portfolio oversees Macau’s health sector.
Before the agreement’s signing ceremony, a seminar on the topic on tackling infectious diseases was held, attended by the officials from the three regions, the statement said.
The agreement, officially known as Cooperation Agreement on Response Mechanism for Public Health Emergencies caused by Infectious Disease, was signed by Wang Hesheng, a vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), Hong Kong Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau, and Ao Ieong.
Wang also heads the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, a deputy-ministerial-level agency under the National Health Commission.
During yesterday’s seminar in Hong Kong, according to the SSM statement, Wang and Lo Chung-mau underlined that the three regions have been maintaining close cooperation aiming to jointly tackle the threat of major infectious diseases, ensuring the protection of the population’s health and social and economic stability in the three regions.
According to the statement, Wang, Lo Chung-mau and Ao Ieong said during the seminar that the new agreement aims to further strengthen the three regions’ joint ability to prevent and control infectious diseases.
Ao Ieong underlined that the Macau government has been complying with the nation’s overall health policy, such as by constantly pushing ahead with the development of Macau’s public health, community health service and specialty medical services.
Ao Ieong noted that the Macau government has drawn up its Healthy Macau Blueprint in compliance with the nation’s Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline as well as with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines.
The SSM statement said that the new agreement requires the three regions to jointly respond to major infectious disease outbreaks in compliance with the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and the three regions’ respective laws and regulations.
Hong Kong Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau (from left to right), National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Director Wang Hesheng, and Macau Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U shake hands after signing the Cooperation Agreement on Response Mechanism for Public Health Emergencies caused by Infectious Disease in Hong Kong yesterday. – Photo: SSM
