Written by | Afterglow Li Yan
At the critical moment of epidemic prevention and control in Hong Kong, Wang Hesheng went to Shenzhen to take command.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on February 16, Wang Hesheng, deputy director of the National Health Commission and director of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, took the lead in command and led a team to Shenzhen to participate in the Coordination Meeting for the Mainland's Anti-epidemic Work in Support of Hong Kong.
On 17 February, he convened a meeting of the expert working group to guide Guangdong Province to send the first batch of mainland support for Hong Kong's anti-epidemic epidemiological expert group and mobile nucleic acid test trucks into Hong Kong on the same day.
The number of new confirmed cases per day has reached 1,000
First, let's talk about the epidemic in Hong Kong.
In recent times, the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong has been heart-wrenching, with new daily confirmed cases reaching a scale of 1,000 people, medical resources under pressure, and the death of young patients causing heartache.
According to Hong Kong's "Dagong Wenhui All Media" report, the epidemic situation in Hong Kong is severe, and the number of confirmed cases has reached a new high in consecutive days, with an increase of 1619 confirmed cases in the 15th, all of which are local infections, and there are about 5400 preliminary confirmed cases. The news pointed out that on the 16th, 4285 new confirmed cases reached a new high, and there were more than 3,000 preliminary confirmed cases.
Hong Kong media said that due to the number of confirmed cases exceeding 1,000 for many consecutive days, Hong Kong's isolation facilities and medical system have been in emergency. As of the 15th, the number of preliminary confirmed and confirmed people waiting for hospitalization in the community reached 12,000.
Recently, Zeng Qiyin, co-chairman of the Infectious Disease Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Medical Association, said in an exclusive interview with Shenzhen Satellite TV, "The epidemic situation in Hong Kong is severe, and the number of confirmed cases every day has an upward trend, and it still has not reached the peak. ”
He said that the major bottleneck in Hong Kong's current fight against the epidemic is the lack of virus detection capacity, and the reopening of the "FireEye Laboratory" in hong Kong will improve the response speed and efficiency of the epidemic disposal.
On the other hand, there have been confirmed cases imported from Hong Kong in Shenzhen and other places.
For example, on February 10, Shenzhen added three new imported confirmed cases from Hong Kong, all of which entered from Hong Kong through the Shenzhen Bay Port; on February 12, the Shenzhen Port tested positive for nucleic acid tests for 4 cross-border truck drivers; and on February 13, 6 cross-border truck drivers tested positive for nucleic acid at the Shenzhen port.
For another example, Hunan Chenzhou reported 2 confirmed cases, after preliminary judgment, 2 confirmed cases Xiao Mou and Deng Moukang entered from Hong Kong in the early morning of February 14, and then drove into Chenzhou through Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.
Earlier, Carrie Lam asked Guangdong Province for help
After the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, Carrie Lam asked Guangdong Province for help.
According to Hong Kong's "Wenhui Network", on January 27, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that the current new crown epidemic in Hong Kong is still severe, and a large-scale outbreak in the community may occur at any time.
She mentioned that she had turned to Guangdong Province for help, hoping to help Hong Kong improve its virus detection capacity.
A short video released by the Guangzhou Press Release on February 10 showed that the Guangdong medical team had arrived in Hong Kong to work to support the fight against the epidemic.
The video caption reads, "The Guangdong medical team has arrived in Hong Kong, and the Bay Area concentric circles are building a big home." Guangdong and Hong Kong are interdependent in each other' with lips and teeth, 'one voice and one breath', and if there is difficulty, we must support! ”
On 11 February, the Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government, Mr Lee Ka-chiu, led a HKSAR delegation to Shenzhen to attend the "Second Thematic Exchange Meeting on COVID-19 between the Mainland and Hong Kong" held on 12 February.
The Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mr Lee Ka-chiu, said that the SAR Government made a five-point request to the Mainland at the above-mentioned meeting, including: sending mainland experts to assist in pathological investigation, assisting in increasing testing capacity, assisting in quarantine and isolation facilities, providing rapid antigen test kits, and providing furniture, masks and other anti-epidemic materials.
Carrie Lam: I ask the central authorities to assist you as soon as possible
The central government is also very concerned about the epidemic situation in Hong Kong.
According to the news of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government of Hong Kong on February 16, General Secretary Xi Jinping recently made important instructions on supporting Hong Kong's fight against the fifth wave of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and entrusted Vice Premier Han Zheng to convey to Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, his high concern for the epidemic in Hong Kong and his cordial concern for hong Kong citizens.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized:
- The Hong Kong SAR Government should earnestly assume the main responsibility, regard the stabilization and control of the epidemic as soon as possible as the overriding task at present, mobilize all the forces and resources that can be mobilized, and take all necessary measures to ensure the life safety and physical health of Hong Kong citizens and ensure the stability of the overall situation in Hong Kong society.
- All relevant departments and localities of the central government should fully support and help the Hong Kong SAR Government to do a good job in epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic work.
The central authorities have also decided to set up a work coordination mechanism led by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the National Health Commission, jointly composed of relevant central departments and relevant experts, and the Governments of Guangdong Province and the Special Administrative Region, so as to intensify the overall planning and coordination of relevant work.
On February 16, Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that the central government has always been the strongest backing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the Special Administrative Region Government will earnestly assume the main responsibility, regard the stabilization and control of the epidemic as soon as possible as the overriding task at present, use all mobilizable forces and resources, and take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and health of Hong Kong citizens and ensure the stability of the overall social situation in Hong Kong.
She pointed out that in response to the fifth wave of the epidemic, the SAR government has taken a multi-pronged approach to contain the virus and continuously optimize and adjust measures to enhance its own capabilities. However, with the rapid development of the epidemic, the current situation in Hong Kong is extremely severe, which greatly exceeds the response capacity of the SAR Government. At this critical juncture, Hong Kong must give full play to the advantages of "one country, two systems"; she has submitted a report to the central government and requested the central government's assistance as soon as possible.
"Veteran" Wang Hesheng went to Shenzhen
According to Xinhua News Agency, the person who led the team to Shenzhen this time was "veteran" Wang Hesheng.
Wang Hesheng, male, born in June 1961, from Qingyuan, Hebei, joined the Party in June 1984, joined the work in August 1984, graduate degree, doctor of law, professor.
According to public information, Wang Hesheng has a lot of experience, serving as deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, director of the State Council Medical Reform Office, etc., and in March 2018, he was appointed deputy director of the National Health Commission and a member of the party group.
In February 2020, at the beginning of the outbreak of the epidemic in Wuhan, Wang Hesheng was "appointed in danger" and served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, and later served as the secretary and director of the Party Group of the Provincial Health Commission.
It is worth mentioning that before taking office as a member of the Standing Committee of the New Hubei Provincial Party Committee, Wang Hesheng was already a member of the Central Steering Group to Hubei and participated in the work related to the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Hubei.
On April 28, 2021, Wang Hesheng was appointed director of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on February 16, Wang Hesheng led a team to Shenzhen, and on February 17, he held an expert working group meeting to guide Guangdong Province to send the first batch of mainland support for Hong Kong's anti-epidemic epidemiological expert group and mobile nucleic acid testing vehicles into Hong Kong.
According to the disclosure, on February 16, the central government set up a special class for mainland support for Hong Kong's fight against the epidemic, involving 10 departments such as the National Health Commission and other national ministries and commissions, as well as Guangdong, and set up a number of working groups according to different divisions of labor, one of which was an epidemiological expert group.
The central government sent a team of experts to Hong Kong to fight the epidemic
According to Shenzhen Satellite TV, on February 17, the pre-departure meeting of the mainland's anti-epidemic epidemiological expert group supporting Hong Kong was held in Shenzhen. The central government sent a team of 4 people to Hong Kong to fight the epidemic, of which 3 were members of the national epidemiological investigation expert group.
They are:
- Kang Min is an expert of the Expert Group on Epidemiology of the Mainland's Support to Hong Kong's Fight against the Epidemic and a member of the National Epidemiological Investigation Expert Group
- Chen Chun is an expert of the Expert Group on Epidemiology of the Mainland's Support for Hong Kong's Fight against the Epidemic and a member of the National Epidemiological Investigation Expert Group
- Chen Xueqin is an expert of the Expert Group on Epidemiology of the Mainland's Support for Hong Kong's Fight against the Epidemic and a member of the National Epidemiological Investigation Expert Group
- Yang Taohui Secretary of the Expert Group on Epidemiology of the Mainland's Support to Hong Kong's Fight against The Epidemic
The 4 people who went to Hong Kong this time belong to the epidemiological expert group, they are all from Guangdong, have rich experience in epidemiological investigation, are proficient in Cantonese and English, are familiar with Hong Kong society, and can deploy expert support from all over the country at any time in the future according to the actual needs of Hong Kong.
According to Shenzhen Satellite TV, Wang Hesheng specially met with members of the expert group going to Hong Kong.
There is one more detail worth paying attention to.
Also attending the pre-departure meeting were Sun Yang, deputy director of the National Bureau for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the Emergency Office of the National Health Commission, Wu Wei, director of the Exchange Department of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, and He Qinghua, a first-level inspector of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission.
Again, the motherland will always be the strong backer of Hong Kong!
The "three-definite plan" was released
During the two sessions of the National People's Congress last year, Zheng Zhijun interviewed a number of deputies to the National People's Congress of the medical system, who had called for the establishment of a national-level disease prevention and control agency to deal with the shortcomings in the current response to sudden infectious diseases.
In May 2021, the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention was established, and Wang Hesheng served as the first director. Yesterday (February 16), the newly established National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention announced three plans.
According to the newly announced "three determinations" plan, the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention is a national bureau managed by the National Health Commission and is at the deputy ministerial level. There are 1 director, 4 deputy directors, and 32 directors and deputy directors (including 1 full-time deputy secretary of the party committee of the organ and 1 leading post of the discipline inspection committee of the organ).
According to the regulations, the main responsibilities of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention include: organizing the formulation of draft laws and regulations, policies, plans and standards for the prevention and control of infectious diseases and public health supervision, being responsible for the construction of the disease prevention and control network and work system; leading the operational work of local disease prevention and control institutions at all levels; formulating and organizing the implementation of the national immunization program and interventions for public health problems that seriously endanger people's health.
According to the circular, the National Health Commission is responsible for managing the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, and assigns the responsibility for formulating and organizing the implementation of the infectious disease prevention and control program, the national immunization program, and the interventions that seriously endanger people's health and public health problems into the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention.
Zheng Zhijun noted that the three-definite plan pointed out that the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau and the Comprehensive Supervision Bureau of the National Health Commission should be abolished. The functions of disease control and supervision are merged under the management of the CDC, and some functions of the Health Commission are transferred. However, the plan does not mention changes in the functions of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. So what is the relationship between the National CdC and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention?
Yao Yu, executive director of the Behavioral Economics Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with Health Times that the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention is the leading organ in the field of disease prevention and control in the country, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is the main technical support unit for specific disease prevention and control work, and the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention is one of the business support units under the State Administration for Disease Control and Prevention.
Zeng Guang, a public health and epidemiology expert, told the media that he hopes that the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention will be able to do two things in the future, one is to be able to directly report the emergency situation judged as a "sudden event" to the state, saving the time cost caused by layers of reporting. The second is to supervise some administrative departments and avoid misjudgments as much as possible. Zheng Zhijun noted that the three-definite plan also mentioned that the National Disease Control Bureau can "organize the investigation and handling of major illegal acts according to law" and begin to have the power of law enforcement and supervision.
Information | Shenzhen Satellite TV Xinhua News Agency People's Network Global Network Wen Wei Po, etc
Proofreading | Luo Jing
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