Hong Kong revoked the mask order on March 1, which means that all social distancing measures under the epidemic have ended. On the same day, the Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lo Chongmao, accepted an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01", which was the first interview to remove masks.
Looking back on the three years of the epidemic, he said that he didn't like being a historian, and he didn't want Kong Ming to comment on the policies of the previous government afterwards.
Regarding the call for an independent investigation, he agrees with Chief Executive Lee Ka-chao and the entire government and disagrees. He said that the government will conduct summaries and reviews in different areas, and the public will see it.
The Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, accepted an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01" on the first day that the mask order was revoked on March 1. Looking back on the three years of fighting the epidemic, he did not want to comment on the previous government's actions after the fact.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
Take off the mask to breathe fresh air and finally get out of the epidemic
The new crown pneumonia epidemic has subsided, and the mask order was officially revoked on March 1. On the same day, the Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, also took off the mask when he was interviewed by "Hong Kong 01". , and others can see my smile, they are very happy. I hope all citizens feel the same as me, and we are finally out of the epidemic.”
He believes that social distancing measures such as the mask order are measures in an extraordinary period, so the withdrawal of the order shows that Hong Kong has officially returned to normal, and I believe it is something to be happy about in Hong Kong.
▼On March 1st, the mask order was revoked. In the early morning of Mong Kok, many people immediately took off their masks▼
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The first two years of epidemic prevention successfully resisted the high-mortality strain
The mask order is officially revoked, which means that all social distance measures have also come to an end.
Looking back on the anti-epidemic measures in the past three years, Lu Chongmao believes that when the new crown virus hit Hong Kong, people did not understand much about the virus, so the government has always decided on measures with the attitude of "crossing the river by feeling the stones", emphasizing that "faster, maybe faster You can reach the shore, but you may not touch the right stone, and there will be problems."
He pointed out that this attitude also made the Hong Kong government very successful in epidemic prevention in the first two years of the epidemic. The epidemic did not have a major outbreak. If the epidemic was out of control at that time, due to the pathogenicity rate of the virus strain at that time, the mortality rate must be higher than the current one.
▼Patients waiting under the tent in the emergency room of Caritas Hospital on February 26▼
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Elderly vaccination rates low
However, Lu Chongmao continued to point out that the success of the fight against the epidemic in the past two years was also one of the reasons for the outbreak of the epidemic at the University of Hong Kong at the beginning of last year.
He explained that there was no major outbreak of the epidemic in Hong Kong in the first two years, which led many people to have the illusion that they do not need to be vaccinated. Until the beginning of last year when the mutant virus strain Omicron hit, the vaccination rate of the elderly was still not high, which made the epidemic possible in a short period of time. Nearly 10,000 lives were taken within a short period of time, "We are "victim of our own success" (victims of our own success), because we succeed, so we fail like this."
He agrees that the Hong Kong government should learn lessons from the promotion of vaccination, and is still brooding over this matter, because even after several waves of the epidemic, the current vaccination rate of the elderly for the third dose is still not high, and he hopes that the relevant vaccination rate can be increased in the future.
On February 28, Chief Executive Li Jiachao announced that the mask order would be lifted from the next day, which was the last social distance measure in Hong Kong. The Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, also explained the policy at a press conference.
(Photo by Lu Yiming)
After the refusal, Kong Ming said he would look forward
This time last year was when the epidemic in Hong Kong was at its worst. At that time, there were debates about whether to test for the whole population, accept the rapid test, and quarantine at home. Many Hong Kong people vividly remember it.
Lu Chongmao refused to comment on the previous practice. "It is easy to understand after the fact. There is no doubt that everything can be improved. I am not a historian who likes to go back to the past. In fact, after the current government took office, I have continued to take countermeasures. It is not very fair to criticize what happened yesterday from today’s perspective. I will look forward.”
On March 1, the first day when the mask order was lifted, Lu Chongmao, the director of the Medical and Health Bureau, went to the news department of "Hong Kong 01" for an interview. This was his first interview without masks.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
Said the review was ongoing and the public would see it in due course
The new crown pneumonia has come to an end, and many experts in the government advisory group have expressed their hope that an independent investigation committee can be established to review past policies. However, Chief Executive Lee Ka-chao has rejected relevant suggestions, and Lu Chongmao agrees with the Chief Executive and the entire government.
However, in the past, when Hong Kong experienced major infectious diseases, committees were set up to review the response to the epidemic. During the SARS period, three investigation committees were set up. Why did the new crown epidemic oppose it?
He explained that there are different methods in each period. SARS only lasted for six months and ended, but the new crown epidemic has not yet come to an end in three years. In addition, the manpower and material resources required to stop and do inspections are too great. Many, "It may be more cost-effective to use a continuous improvement and separate form."
He also emphasized that the government will conduct summaries and reviews in different areas, and Hong Kong is a very transparent city, and the results of the review will eventually be explained to the public. , I believe that at the right time and in the right way, the public will see it.”
The Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, agrees with the government and the chief executive, refusing to conduct an independent investigation on the new crown epidemic.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
01 Interview with Lu Chongmao｜Responding to the change of the picture and talking about the relationship with the Chief Executive: Playing as a good person and a bad person 01 Interview with Lu Chongmao｜The first interview after the removal of the cover.