Chung Nam Nam first talks about the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong: We will not tolerate the new crown leading to a large number of elderly deaths

On February 21, Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a well-known respiratory expert, shouted affectionately to the citizens of Hong Kong in Cantonese through video, encouraging all walks of life in Hong Kong to work together to fight the epidemic and overcome the difficulties together.

Zhong Nanshan put forward three opinions on the current fight against the epidemic in Hong Kong, one is to prevent transmission, he believes that the most important thing in Hong Kong at present is to separate patients and healthy people, and those who have been diagnosed should not stay at home and should be isolated separately. The second is to strengthen vaccination. He stressed that the vaccine is very effective in preventing infection and exacerbations, and eligible elderly people in Hong Kong must receive two or even a third dose, which can greatly reduce the case fatality rate. The third is the reserve drug treatment, such as Paxlovid in the United States, Chinese mainland BRII 196-198 antibody, and some proprietary Chinese medicines that have been proven effective by evidence-based medicine.

Zhong Nanshan also revealed that compared with other virus strains, Omicron generally has mild symptoms, but its harm is far greater than that of influenza. He stressed that the highest human right is human life, healthy life. Unlike the philosophy of some Western countries, the guiding ideology of Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong SAR on COVID-19 is very clear, which is "life first, health first", "we will not tolerate natural infections leading to a large number of elderly deaths, so our policy is still to strive for dynamic clearance." ”

The video transcript is as follows:

Fellow citizens of Hong Kong, I am Chung Nam-nam. 18 years ago, I went to Hong Kong many times to fight the SAR epidemic with your SAR government medical experts Yuan Guoyong and Xu Shuchang, and jointly discussed the rescue of seriously ill patients, and in three months, achieved a great victory in the fight against SARS. 18 years later, COVID-19 is back in, all over the world.

Since the beginning of 2020, the anti-epidemic actions and measures led by the Hong Kong SAR Government have been relatively effective, and the prevalence rate and case fatality rate have been at a global low, effectively ensuring the stability of Hong Kong society. However, since the outbreak of the new virus strain Omicron in Hong Kong on January 5 this year, due to the rapid spread of the mutant virus, it has been roughly calculated that nearly 60,000 people have fallen ill and at least 75 people have died, which has caused a great impact on the economy and society.

Compared with other strains, Omicron generally has mild symptoms, mainly in the nasopharynx and airways, and the incidence of pneumonia is relatively small, the case fatality rate is low, and it is close to seasonal influenza, so the public does not need to worry too much. But its harm is far greater than the flu, one is highly contagious, the flu is 1 pass 1-2, the flu transmission index is not very high, but Omicron is 1 pass 6-7, so its spread is much higher than the flu, which will cause social instability. Second, despite the low case fatality rate, according to statistics published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in early February, 2.65% of 60-69 years old, 9.87% of 70-79 years old, and 21.0% of people over 80 years old. At present, the crude mortality rate in Hong Kong is about 0.15%, and if a large number of infections occur in people over the age of 60, the mortality rate will increase greatly. My personal opinion is that no matter what different political ideas you have, in the struggle between people and the virus, the most important thing is life, and the highest human right is human life, healthy life. Unlike the philosophy of some Western countries, the guiding ideology of the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong SAR on COVID-19 is very clear, which is "life first, health first", we will not tolerate natural infections leading to a large number of elderly deaths, so our policy is still to strive for dynamic clearance.

In this case, our approach should be: First, prevention of transmission is the key. First of all, do a good job of personal protection, reduce social contact, and be free from infection; second, if you are a close contact, you should regularly increase rapid examination (that is, antigen test), if you find positive, immediately contact the medical department; third, the most important thing at present is to separate patients and healthy people, the diagnosed people should not stay at home, to isolate separately, at present in Hong Kong is indeed encountering great difficulties, but this difficulty is temporary, according to my understanding, the SAR government and the central government are accelerating in Penny Bay, Kai Tak Pier and other places to establish a cabin hospital, if necessary even gymnasium, convention and exhibition center need to consider as an isolation place, can cut off this link, for Hong Kong as soon as possible to control the epidemic is extremely critical; fourth, serious patients in time hospitalization, of course, the best way is to concentrate in a hospital, to facilitate timely and professional treatment, reduce mortality.

2. Strengthen vaccination. Vaccines are very effective in preventing infection and exacerbations. As far as I know, vaccination rates for the elderly over the age of 60 in Hong Kong are not ideal. Hong Kong received the second dose: 72% of 60-69 years old; 56% of 70-79 years old; 28% above 80%, the data is very low. The UK Health Security Agency has estimated that if two doses of the vaccine are given, the case fatality rate will be reduced by more than half at all ages, and if the third dose is given, the mortality rate will be further reduced, only a few tenths of a second. Hong Kong is a very long-lived region, and the average life expectancy is very high in the world, so the elderly in Hong Kong must receive two or even a third dose, which can greatly reduce the case fatality rate.

3. Reserve drug treatment. For example, Paxlovid, Chinese mainland BRII 196-198 antibodies in the United States, and some proprietary Chinese medicines that have been proven effective by evidence-based medicine are effective for reducing symptoms, shortening the course of treatment, and reducing the incidence of severe disease.

In the current grim situation, the most important thing for us is to strengthen unity and cooperation. All government departments, the business community, public hospitals and private hospitals and the general public must unite and cooperate in the face of the fight against the new crown, and I fully believe that with the support of the central government and the mainland, including nucleic acid testing, rapid determination of antigens, cooperative establishment of square cabin hospitals, medical staff support, etc., what is more important here is the leadership and efforts of the SAR government.