CUHK gives full-hearted support to Hong Kong’s battle against Omicron
CU Medicine and the CUHK Medical Centre spare no efforts to support Hong Kong’s fight against Omicron.
With a severe fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic currently threatening to overwhelm Hong Kong’s public healthcare system, CUHK has brought together health professionals, researchers, staff, students and alumni to provide urgent help through direct frontline patient care, community vaccination and testing services, timely expert advice and world-class research.
Over 1,000 staff, students and alumni of the CUHK’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) have been mobilised in Hong Kong’s fight against the pandemic, while CUHK Medical Centre (CUHKMC), a non-profit private hospital founded with a mission to bridge the gap between private and public healthcare, has played an important role in alleviating the burden on the public hospital system.
Making a difference on the frontlines
Clinical professors from CU Medicine are working closely with colleagues at public hospitals to provide active frontline patient care services in high-risk units such as intensive care units, paediatric wards and infectious disease wards. Nursing students are also helping to look after COVID-19 patients at CUHKMC, while faculty staff and alumni who are registered medical practitioners and nurses are providing operational support to two community treatment facilities.
CUHKMC has also set up a facility for patients recovering from positive cases and launched a bespoke service to cater for patients experiencing mild symptoms. It has opened 48 of its beds to public hospital patients in order to reduce pressures on public provision.
Supporting vaccination and testing
CU Medicine actively participates in community outreach vaccination programmes.
The community vaccination centre at CUHKMC has now administered over 620,000 jabs in the past 12 months, ramping up Hong Kong residents’ defences against the virus. In recent months, it rapidly established a new PCR testing centre and took responsibility for a mobile vaccination service for students in primary and secondary schools as well as elderly people living in remote regions. CU Medicine has also actively participated in several community outreach vaccination programmes in various districts across the territory, with medical alumni and students volunteering to support community vaccination. As of mid-April, more than 3,000 jabs have been provided to the needy in the territory.
Free online Chinese medicine consultations are offered to COVID-19 patients.
Other vital contributions include promoting community testing by providing professional swab sampling for people in need, offering a free online Chinese medicine consultation and delivery service for care homes, and supporting the government hotline service that handles queries from people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are waiting for admission to hospitals or isolation facilities. In addition, CU Medicine continues to provide expert advice to the HKSAR Government and publish world-class COVID-19 research to help tackle current and future challenges.
Prof. Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, said, ‘Universities have a unique civic role to play, with a public responsibility in this fight against COVID-19. I am deeply gratified to witness the continued dedication and spirit of solidarity of CUHK members in fighting COVID-19, particularly during the recent surge in infection. In addition, I would like to pay my heartfelt respect and appreciation to all frontline personnel in Hong Kong, especially medical professionals, for their selfless contribution to the fight against the pandemic. It is my sincerest hope that all members of the Hong Kong community will work together to overcome the COVID-19 challenge.’
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