Easing pressure

Ming Wai-kit, an assistant professor of public health at City University of Hong Kong, said there will be a severe local staffing shortage if cases continue to rise exponentially. Cases will rise when universal testing begins and more isolation units are put into operation, but Ming said the help of mainland workers will greatly ease pressure on the city and enhance its resilience.

Chow Pak-chin, a doctor and president of the think tank Wisdom Hong Kong, said the city's capabilities and infrastructure are insufficient to cope with the current situation, but with the mainland offering help with "hardware and software", there is hope that the fifth wave of the outbreak can be contained and even beaten.

Hong Kong has endured four waves of mass infection during the past two years, but the city is still ill-prepared and ill-equipped to battle the latest one, he said.

Chow emphasized that－as President Xi said in his statement－the central government is here to help, but the main responsibility in the city's battle against COVID-19 rests squarely on the shoulders of the Hong Kong SAR government.

Chen Shuman contributed to this story.