The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:
The Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo) today (September 15) issued the following statement:
The Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) concluded on September 14 and a total of about 1 780 000 persons had been tested. The ExCo Non-official Members gladly noted that the UCTP was well received by the public and commended the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government for successfully launching this large-scale programme within a short time frame. Members were of the view that the UCTP was able to help identify asymptomatic patients, and thereby sever the virus transmission chain at the earliest possible juncture and curb the epidemic.
The ExCo Non-official Members said that the smooth implementation of the UCTP was made possible thanks to the staunch support from different sectors of the community, including members of the public who spared the time to take the test as well as the healthcare personnel and working staff who assisted in specimen collection at testing centres.
Moreover, the ExCo Non-official Members would like to thank the Central Government for its positive response to the request of the HKSAR Government by establishing speedily a support team and providing the necessary equipment and resources. The hard work of members of the support team in completing their tasks had enabled the HKSAR Government to launch the large-scale UCTP so as to cope with the serious epidemic situation.
Although the current epidemic situation of Hong Kong has eased, there is no room for letting down one's guard. The ExCo Non-official Members appeal to different sectors of the community to remain vigilant and continue to fight the epidemic together.
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