ENG-2020 — Page 191

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Health

including the operation of premises, entry into Hong Kong, provision of personal information, mask wearing, group gathering, virus tests and the use of vaccines. Departments used their statutory powers to implement anti-epidemic measures and continue to take law enforcement action against offenders.

• Professional leadership - An advisory group of four experts was formed to provide advice to the government. The government also took account of the WHO's advice and maintained communication and cooperation with the National Health Commission and various Mainland provinces and cities on joint prevention and control of COVID-19. The government also consulted the Department of Health's Scientific Committees on vaccine procurement and appointed an advisory panel to advise on the efficacy and safety of individual vaccines.

• Facilities and equipment - The government took a range of measures to ensure sufficient anti-pandemic supplies. These included subsidising local research and development and the production of face masks, face shields and other personal protective equipment; constructing additional temporary quarantine centres; and converting AsiaWorld-Expo into community treatment facilities. With the Central Government's support, the government provided an additional 950 beds in the community treatment facilities at AsiaWorld-Expo and developed the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre to accommodate about 820 negative pressure beds.

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• Application of technology - Applications of technology included: electronic wristbands for monitoring persons under quarantine and the 'StayHomeSafe' app; the 'LeaveHomeSafe' QR code and app for assisting in tracing contacts of confirmed cases; the Local Situation Dashboard to provide the public with the latest information on cases; the CuMask+TM that could be reused dozens of times and was provided free to the public; and the reagent for rapid tests and the building sewage testing technology that helped detect confirmed cases.

• Information transparency - Up-to-date information was regularly provided to the public through various channels, including daily briefings by the Centre for Health Protection and the Hospital Authority; press conferences by the Chief Executive and Bureau Secretaries; and press releases and posts on various social media platforms by relevant. bureaus and departments.

• Testing with precision - Hong Kong's limited testing capacity at the beginning of the pandemic was increased substantially with the introduction (with the Central Government's support) of laboratories from the Mainland. In September, with the Central Government's support, the 14-day Universal Community Testing Programme was launched and over 1.7 million members of the public took the test. The government also targeted persons at high risk to undergo compulsory testing, and encouraged members of the public to undergo testing on a voluntary basis.

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