HONG KONG, March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the face of the severe fifth wave of epidemic in Hong Kong, Fosun Foundation quickly launched the epidemic relief work of "Let's Work Hand in Hand and Combat the Epidemic Together" in Hong Kong. After the first batch of 250,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits and 50,000 pieces of N95 respirators were donated to non-profit organizations and associations in Hong Kong at the end of February to help Hong Kong combat the epidemic, today the second batch of more than 500,000 pieces of anti-epidemic materials including COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits, N95 respirators, level 3 surgical masks, protective suits, isolation gowns, forehead thermometers, finger pulse oximeters, arrived in Hong Kong successively and is en route to non-profit organizations and associations.
The anti-epidemic materials donated by Fosun Foundation arrive in Hong Kong successively and will be distributed to people in need
Upon communication with various non-profit organizations and associations, Fosun Foundation arranged the second batch of anti-epidemic materials according to the actual anti-epidemic situation and needs of the non-profit organizations and associations. This time, Fosun Foundation contacted with more than 30 non-profit organizations and associations, including Hong Kong Alliance of Patients' Organizations Limited, Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, the Cancer Crusade Angels Service Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Paediatric Society, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, HeartUnion.org, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Community CareAge Foundation, New Home Association, Social Workers Across Borders, and some elderly centers, schools, trade unions such as Association of Social Welfare and Labour Services Organisation Employees, the Federation of Hong Kong Food & Beverage Industries Trade Unions, the Federation of Hong Kong Transportation and Logistics Industry Unions, the Hong Kong Housing Management Employees Union, the Cleaning and General Staff Union, the Federation of Hong Kong Electrical & Mechanical Industries Trade Unions.
Support residential care homes to combat the epidemic, protecting the health of the elderly
Since the fifth wave of the epidemic broke out, residential care homes (RCHs) for the elderly have become the hardest hit area. According to government statistics, more than 70% of RCHs have had outbreaks, and around 10,000 residents have been infected. The death toll from the current wave of the epidemic continues to rise. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP), Department of Health, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, said that since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic, people aged 60 or above accounted for more than 90% of the total deaths. The elderly should receive vaccination as soon as possible for protection.
Fosun Foundation's second round of epidemic relief action in Hong Kong will continue to prioritize the distribution of anti-epidemic materials to chronically ill patients, the elderly, children and other high-risk groups for COVID-19 with low immunity, among which RCHs for the elderly, and elderly service organizations and associations are the main targets of assistance.
Fosun Foundation immediately sent anti-epidemic materials to RCHs to help support RCHs to combat the epidemic
Since the outbreak of the epidemic in RCHs for the elderly, Wong Sau Ping, Home Manager of Sun King Home of Aged, took the initiative to contact Fosun Foundation. She said, "Due to the severe epidemic situation in RCHs, the demand for anti-epidemic materials has greatly increased. Upon our request, Fosun Foundation immediately sent COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits and N95 respirators to us, so that we have sufficient protective equipment and materials to meet the urgent needs. At present, there is a huge demand for anti-epidemic materials such as protective suits in RCHs due to the serious shortage. Currently, Fosun Foundation is rapidly deploying relevant materials to us. Our nurses and nursing staff will hold fast to their position and take care of the elderly. This outbreak is a protracted war. We will do our best to combat the epidemic and hope that it will end as soon as possible. We also hope that more benevolent organizations and people will donate anti-epidemic materials to support our industry in fighting the epidemic."
Let's combat the epidemic together, supporting frontline service personnel who hold fast to their position
In addition to assisting high-risk groups for COVID-19 with low immunity, such as chronically ill patients, the elderly, and children, Fosun Foundation hopes that the current round of epidemic relief action can also benefit grassroots families, subdivided unit families, and grassroots citizens who need to undergo home quarantine (for various reasons, such as preliminarily positive for COVID-19, confirmed infection but unable to seek medical treatment in time, close contacts), frontline anti-epidemic workers, volunteers, frontline service personnel in cleaning, security, transportation, catering, electrical and mechanical industries, etc. Relevant materials have been successively sent to relevant non-profit organizations and associations, who will select beneficiaries according to their respective circumstances and arrange distribution.
With the growing severity of the local epidemic situation, frontline service personnel are facing a great deal of workload and pressure. At this critical moment, frontline service personnel are still hold fast to their position and continue to work tirelessly to protect the health of citizens and maintain environmental hygiene and safety. After Fosun Foundation communicated with relevant non-profit organizations and trade unions, such as Association of Social Welfare and Labour Services Organisation Employees, the Hong Kong Housing Management Employees Union, the Cleaning and General Staff Union, we learned that frontline service personnel have an urgent and substantial demand for COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits, N95 respirators, level 3 surgical masks, protective equipment, forehead thermometers, finger pulse oximeters, etc. In the current round of epidemic relief action, Fosun Foundation quickly deployed anti-epidemic materials to the relevant trade unions to provide epidemic prevention support for the frontline service personnel who protect the health and life of Hong Kong people at the forefront.
After receiving the anti-epidemic materials from Fosun Foundation, Mr. Chua Hoi Wai, JP, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), said, "Due to the severe fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, many RCHs for the elderly have unfortunately been infected one after another. We have been receiving assistance requests from service units every day as employees and residents of RCHs who are infected with a more contagious COVID-19 variant need isolation and quarantine materials. In addition to RCHs, many frontline service units still have to provide services. To ensure the safety of employees and clients, there is a huge demand for COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits and protective materials. The HKCSS sincerely thanks Fosun Foundation for its prompt donation of the COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits and protective suits, which have been arranged for delivery to frontline service personnel and the community in need."
Li Haifeng, Chairman of Fosun Foundation, said, "After we delivered the anti-epidemic materials to high-risk groups and grassroots people, we received many thank you letters from representatives of non-profit organizations and associations, school principals, etc., as well as positive feedbacks from the elderly, chronically ill patients and grassroots citizens to thank us for the speedy delivery of anti-epidemic materials to relieve their urgent needs. For Fosun, we just hope to uphold the original aspiration of 'Contribution to Society' and leverage Fosun's global resources to provide our modest contribution to the fight against the epidemic. In addition to continuing to assist high-risk groups for COVID-19, we also hope that the second batch of anti-epidemic materials can benefit more low-income families and grassroots citizens as well as frontline anti-epidemic workers who still uphold their professionalism and service personnel who hold fast to their position to serve the citizens of Hong Kong."
Fosun has always been supporting Hong Kong
In view of the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, Fosun Foundation announced on 19 February the donation of HK$10 million anti-epidemic materials to Hong Kong to fully support Hong Kong's fight against the epidemic. After the first batch of materials was successfully delivered to people in urgent need, the second batch of anti-epidemic materials arrived in Hong Kong and is en route to relevant non-profit organizations and associations, so that the materials can be allocated to people in need as soon as possible. Currently, Fosun Foundation is actively contacting non-profit organizations and associations in Hong Kong to deploy the third batch of anti-epidemic materials to Hong Kong as soon as possible in response to their needs for protective materials.
In fact, Fosun's action to assist Hong Kong in fighting the epidemic started some time ago. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Fosun joined hands with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, to jointly develop the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (COMIRNATY®), which has been put into use in Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR in March 2021, and arrived in the Taiwan region on 2 September 2021, which was subsequently put into use, playing an active role in the epidemic prevention and control in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan region. The Government of the Hong Kong SAR announced on 5 March that it has purchased approximately 3.8 million additional doses of COMIRNATY® to meet the recent public demand for COVID-19 vaccines. Together with the earlier batches, the government has so far procured more than 12.3 million doses of COMIRNATY®. A government spokesman said that with the threat of the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, eligible citizens of all ages, should get vaccinated as soon as possible for self-protection.
According to a study conducted by the University of Hong Kong, the Fosun/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is better at preventing Omicron infection, and the efficacy rate remains nearly 80% six months after the third dose. In addition, the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (JSC) under the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health strongly recommends that adults who have received two doses of inactivated vaccine or Fosun/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to receive a third dose of Fosun/BioNTech mRNA vaccine as soon as three months after the second dose. Since local people aged 60 or above have a higher risk of severe illness and death after infection, they should be given priority to get vaccinated.
Li Haifeng, Chairman of Fosun Foundation, said, "The fifth wave of the epidemic is raging in Hong Kong. Many medical studies pointed out that COVID-19 vaccines can effectively reduce the risk of severe illness and death after COVID-19 infection. We earnestly hope and encourage Hong Kong citizens to respond to the government's calls, receive the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, and receive the third dose in time to protect themselves and their family. The essence of Hong Kong's 'Lion Rock Spirit' is to strive hard relentlessly. We look forward to working with Hong Kong to overcome difficulties, making every effort to provide Hong Kong with more anti-epidemic materials as well as helping Hong Kong build a protective barrier to support Hong Kong in beating the epidemic as soon as possible."
About Fosun
Fosun was founded in 1992. Fosun's mission is to provide high-quality products and services for families around the world in health, happiness, wealth and intelligent manufacturing segments. Fosun International Limited is a global innovation-driven consumer group that has been listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 00656.HK) since 2007.
Founded in 1994, Fosun Pharma (stock code: 600196.SH, 02196.HK), a member company of Fosun, is a leading innovation-driven international healthcare group in China. Recently, it partnered with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, to jointly develop the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (COMIRNATY®) to supply COMIRNATY® in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan region.
Since its establishment, Fosun has been adhering to its core value of "Self-improvement, Teamwork, Performance and Contribution to Society", shouldering corporate social responsibilities and insisting on serving the society, the people and the nation. Founded in November 2012, Fosun Foundation's core businesses include disaster relief, poverty alleviation, healthcare, education, culture, art, youth entrepreneurship, etc. In 2021, Fosun Foundation was awarded "5A Social Organization".
