Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee (third right), joined by Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region He Jing (second right) and Deputy Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene Diane Wong (fourth right), sees off some members of the mainland butchers at the Shenzhen Bay Port, April 30 2022. The butchers were deployed to Hong Kong earlier to assist in the operation of the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong officials expressed gratitude to a mainland team supporting the operation of a local slaughterhouse amid the fifth wave of the pandemic.
The Sheung Shui slaughterhouse saw a manpower shortage due to the severity of the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in late February. In view of this, the central government deployed a team of 38 butchers to Hong Kong on March 2 to assist in the operation of the slaughterhouse in a bid to stabilize the supply of fresh meat in Hong Kong.
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We thank the central government for the staunch support to Hong Kong in fighting the epidemic, and for their proactive facilitation in stabilizing the supply of fresh produce in Hong Kong.
Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health, HKSAR govt
Members of the team have been subject to closed-loop management during their stay to minimize the infection risk.
On Saturday, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee saw off some members of the skilled butchers deployed to Hong Kong.
"We thank the central government for the staunch support to Hong Kong in fighting the epidemic, and for their proactive facilitation in stabilizing the supply of fresh produce in Hong Kong,” Chan said.
She added that the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse has been operating smoothly and the supply of fresh meat is now plentiful thanks to the mainland team.
“We are particularly grateful for the assistance of the team over the past two months,” she said.
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Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee (third left, second row), joined by Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region He Jing (fourth left, second row) and Deputy Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene Diane Wong (fifth left, second row), pose with some members of the mainland butchers deployed to Hong Kong earlier to assist in the operation of the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse, April 30, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
She was joined by Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region He Jing and Deputy Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene Diane Wong at the Shenzhen Bay Port.
Twenty-four members of the team departed Hong Kong via the Shenzhen Bay Port on Saturday. The remaining 14 members will continue to stay in Hong Kong to assist in the operation of the slaughterhouse.