The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, attended the 12th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy yesterday (August 25) and today (August 26) via video conferencing to discuss and exchange views with leaders of other economies on issues at the nexus of health and the economy.
 
     Under the theme of "Open to Partnership. Connect with the World. Balance Health and the Economy", senior health officials from various member economies shared their insights, visions and experience in addressing the various health challenges faced by the Asia-Pacific region, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
     During the round-table discussion session, Professor Lo shared Hong Kong, China's anti-pandemic strategy: "Hong Kong, China's medical system is a unique blend. Alongside Western medicine and therapeutic methods, Chinese medicine has been playing an important role in the whole process of pandemic prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. In our fight against COVID-19, where appropriate, Chinese and Western medical practitioners jointly formulate treatment plans.
 
     "We also use COVID-19 vaccines of different technology platforms – inactivated virus from Mainland China and mRNA from the West. Indeed we must continue to search for ways to take our health system to the next level, in particular to adopt more innovative strategies.
 
     "In the fight against COVID-19, Hong Kong, China is blessed to have the ceaseless support from Mainland China, which has provided generous medical supplies and helped with the construction of isolation facilities within a very short timeframe. Health experts from Mainland China also provided effective and practical advice on the strengthening of our anti-pandemic measures. Meanwhile, to allow Hong Kong people residing in Mainland China to receive continuous and convenient medical support, we commissioned a hospital in our neighbouring city (Shenzhen) to provide subsidised follow-up consultations during the pandemic. All these have significantly enhanced our anti-pandemic capacity and expedited the return to normalcy."
 
     Professor Lo reaffirmed Hong Kong, China's continuous commitment in close integration with Mainland China and maintaining collaboration with fellow APEC member economies to strengthen pandemic preparedness to future health threats.
 
     "The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted longer than we had hoped, and we must continue to stand in solidarity to fight the virus," Professor Lo added.

Ends/Friday, August 26, 2022
Issued at HKT 17:39

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