Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (right) holds a press conference on measures to fight COVID-19 with Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit Wing-hang at the Central Government Offices, Tamar, Hong Kong, April 9, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
Hong Kong’s edge on innovation and technology development has lent itself to the city’s formidable battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government will dedicate sustained support to anti-epidemic technologies.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the remarks on Saturday at her daily news conference on the city’s pandemic situation.
She noted that, at the “Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days” event organized online last month, Hong Kong grabbed 204 awards. Seventeen of the award-winning innovations bear applications in the fight against the coronavirus, with four of them gaining gold medals.
In the past two years, the government has given all-out support to I&T research and development, with "utilizing the technologies to combat the pandemic" in mind.
Carrie Lam, HK chief executive
Among the gold-medal winning inventions is the customizable in-manhole sampling robot for sewage surveillance invented by the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with the Drainage Services Department and the Environmental Protection Department. The device can collect sewage samples automatically without human aid. It has been extensively used in Hong Kong, and has come a long way in detecting traces of the coronavirus in the sewage system, said Alfred Sit Wing-hang, secretary for innovation and technology of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
“The device has helped in collecting 13 sewage samples for virus assessment, which has identified 26,000 preliminary positive cases,” said Sit. He praised Hong Kong’s universities for exploring viable technologies to tackle the public health crisis.
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The anti-COVID-19 stainless steel, which won the silver medal in the competition, is another HKU innovation Sit cited for helping to contain COVID-19 transmission through surface contact. Displaying a square sheet of the stainless steel, Sit explained that “it can replace some of the frequently touched surfaces in public areas, such as lift buttons,” by virtue of its property of inactivating the coronavirus. “It has been used in 600 lifts across the city,” he said.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (third right) and Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit Wing-hang (second left) join a group photo with members of the local innovation and technology sector who involve in the research and development of various anti-epidemic projects, thanking them for their contributions in fighting the disease and congratulating the awardees at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Hong Kong, April 9, 2022. (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has also developed a new multi-level anti-microbial polymer coating that can inactivate 99.9 percent of the Omicron variant — the highly infectious virus dominating Hong Kong’s fifth wave of the pandemic.
Other home-grown cutting-edge innovations aimed at dealing with COVID-19 include an artificial intelligence-enabled, 60-degree disinfectant spray-head, online information platforms allowing residents to keep abreast of the epidemic’s development, as well as the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app that has been downloaded 7.8 million times and the Vaccine Pass.
“In the past two years, the government has given all-out support to I&T research and development, with ‘utilizing the technologies to combat the pandemic’ in mind,” said Lam.
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Policies initiated by the current-term government speak volumes about the government’s dedicated incentives and support to nurture a vivacious I&T ecosystem and inspire I&T development, including the launch of the Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology and a hefty HK$130 billion in funding for the sector, said Lam.
She urged all residents to carry out the voluntary three-day rapid antigen tests that began on Friday. The tests will allow the government to gauge a better picture of the local epidemic situation. “It's like a snapshot of the overall infection situation in Hong Kong, which I’m sure will be beneficial to our formulating the next stage of anti-epidemic policies,” she said.
Another objective of the RAT exercise is “very tangible,” she added. Since a large percentage of people infected by the omicron variant are asymptotic, the city-wide self-tests will enable them to detect any infection timely and prevent the virus from spreading further.
“At the end of the day, it’s voluntary. Even if it’s mandatory, there would still be non-compliance of 1 to 3 percent,” Lam said.