Triage system

At the suggestion of a top mainland epidemiologist visiting the city at the end of February, the Hong Kong government agreed to adopt a triage system to reduce the number of deaths and severely ill patients.

This five-level system places those most in need of medical attention in intensive care units or general medical wards at public hospitals. Those with mild symptoms are placed in community isolation and treatment facilities or in isolation centers designated for the elderly. Patients due to be admitted to these facilities first undergo home quarantine, during which they can seek medical services at the city's designated COVID-19 clinics.

In addition to the triage system, to prioritize senior patients and those who are critically ill, traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, has been called for.

On March 29, a seven-member team of TCM experts arrived in Hong Kong from the mainland, joining 20 such practitioners from across the border who arrived earlier to treat COVID-19 patients, especially the elderly, at the Asia-World-Expo community treatment facility.

Welcoming the experts at Shenzhen Bay Port, Lam said the use of TCM, which has been highly effective on the mainland in curing COVID-19 patients, will be beneficial to Hong Kong's anti-pandemic goal of preventing people becoming critically ill and dying.

"Chinese medicine is also very effective in rehabilitation. After a COVID-19 patient has been cured, particularly an elderly patient, the use of Chinese medicine can also help with a speedy recovery," Lam said.

The use of TCM to treat COVID-19 patients has been accelerated in the city. Many infected seniors in residential care homes have received such medication, especially asymptomatic cases and those with mild symptoms.

TCM was administered to retired primary school teacher Lui Pak-yuen, 63, and his 89-year-old mother, residents at Prosperous Garden, a private nursing home in Tseung Kwan O.Both were infected with COVID-19.

The pair, who are firm believers in TCM, consulted practitioners via video calls, quickly recovering after several days of treatment.