The current wave of the epidemic has hit Hong Kong hard and has claimed nearly 7,000 lives so far. There are voices in the community calling for the establishment of a review committee to find out the shortcomings. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said 6 days ago that she was open to suggestions, believing that a comprehensive review of the behavior of the government, the private sector or institutions should be made. To elderly death groups and residential care homes for the elderly.
Carrie Lam and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong attended an anti-epidemic press conference this morning (26th), announcing that the review of residential homes will take the lead. And strengthen the anti-epidemic capacity of the institutions, the first meeting will be held next week.
Luo Zhiguang said that the internal review is to absorb hard lessons and prepare for the possible sixth wave of the epidemic.
He admitted that the large outbreak of the epidemic in residential care homes for the elderly, and the heavy responsibility for the deaths must lie with the Labor and Welfare Bureau. Although it was known at the beginning of the fifth wave of the epidemic that it was necessary to increase quarantine facilities, the rate of increase in cases was faster than the speed of facility construction. The facilities have failed to catch up, emphasizing that the spread of the variant virus has increased, and the standards and measures two years ago are no longer sufficient for infection control. After the review, an improvement plan will be proposed, and cross-departmental collaboration, including the possibility of installing an air-conditioning system for the residential building, etc. incoming epidemic.
Carrie Lam and Law Chi-kwong attended the anti-epidemic press conference, announcing that the review of residential homes will take the lead.
Internal review across bureaus and departments is only to strengthen the anti-epidemic capability of residential care homes
Law Chi-kwong said that in response to the lack of anti-epidemic work in the fifth wave of the epidemic and preparing for the sixth wave of the epidemic, the members of the inter-departmental working group will include representatives from the Food and Health Bureau, the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority, the Development Bureau and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. To review the anti-epidemic work in residential homes and make suggestions for improvement, the primary task is to improve the ventilation facilities of residential homes and provide guidelines and rules for epidemic prevention.
In the current wave of the epidemic, more than half of the deaths from the disease were residents of residential care homes for the elderly and the disabled, involving 3,685 lives, and accounting for 5% of all residents in residential care homes in Hong Kong.
Luo Zhiguang said that the epidemic in residential care homes peaked on March 6, with 73 cases reported in a single day. In the 14 days before March 7, the number of elderly people in residential care homes was as high as 14,000. Fortunately, the number has dropped recently. , the number of confirmed cases in the last 14 days has dropped to 971.
So far, more than 90% of elderly homes in Hong Kong have outbreaks.
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The ventilation problem in residential homes was known the previous year and will be the focus of improvement
Luo Zhiguang pointed out that confirmed cases began to appear in the institution since the third wave of the epidemic. After the inspection and evaluation by experts, the ventilation problem was taken into consideration at that time, but the reconstruction of the ventilation system was a big project. Therefore, the authorities started the third wave of the epidemic in 2020. Air purifiers have been added to the institution, but the mutant virus Omicron can be transmitted through the air in a short distance. The standards and measures two years ago were insufficient for infection control. Therefore, the inter-departmental team will propose improvement plans as soon as possible based on recent experience and expert opinions. Collaborate across departments to prepare for the sixth wave of the epidemic at any time.
Specific options do not rule out any possibility, including helping the home to re-install the air-conditioning system, or carry out major works.
When asked who was responsible for the outbreak of the outbreak in the residential home, Luo Zhiguang said that since the beginning of the epidemic, the responsibility for handling the nursing home for the elderly must lie with the Labor and Welfare Bureau.
He pointed out that at the beginning of the fifth wave of the epidemic, it was clear that quarantine facilities must be added, but the growth rate of cases was faster than the rate of facility construction. He recently said that the government was "one step slower". And the facilities failed to catch up for support, we will definitely absorb the painful experience this time, improve and prepare for future work.
The utilization rate of the respite center is low. The Labor Welfare Bureau researches that the elderly with mild illness will be sent to respite directly and changed to be a resident to quarantine the elderly. Can the tragedy of the epidemic be avoided?
Carrie Lam: Missing the Valley Needle, misleading the newspapers in Hong Kong to prevent the fifth wave of the epidemic | Life is at stake, vaccinate the elderly as soon as possible
