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Emily Hung

Hong Kong will act as a global partner in pandemic preparedness, leveraging its “unrivalled” status as a medical innovation hub to combat emerging health threats such as a recent hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, the city’s leader and health chief have said.
Speaking at the Asia Summit on Global Health on Monday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu underscored the city’s commitment and strategic role in medical innovation.
“Our status as a leading hub for scientific innovation is unrivalled in Asia, and our strengths are magnified by our core position in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area,” he said.
“In pursuit of medical innovation, Hong Kong complements the strategies set out in the national 15th five-year plan, [which] optimises an evaluation and approval mechanism for innovative drugs and supports their clinical application.”
Lee said a key part of the plan to develop Hong Kong into a health and medical innovation hub was the rapid expansion of the city’s clinical trial capabilities, which “drive biomedical R&D from the laboratory to the bedside”.
Outlining government policies and investments to drive innovation, he called for greater collaboration and strategic partnerships to achieve breakthroughs in medicine and biotechnology.
Echoing Lee, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau highlighted the city’s unique role in strengthening global pandemic preparedness and response, as the world closely monitored a hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius.
Three passengers – a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman – have died, while others have fallen ill with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents. On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it had confirmed six out of eight suspected cases.
“Although the WHO assesses the risk of this outbreak developing into a global pandemic as low … we cannot resist the feeling of deja vu that just a few years ago, the world was gripped by the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic that disrupted every facet of our societies,” Lo said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic taught us a sobering lesson: no health system, however advanced, can stand alone against a pandemic, and no one is safe until everyone is safe. When the next pandemic emerges – and it will, I’m sure – our collective survival will depend not on walls, but on bridges.”

Lo said Hong Kong has strengthened its preparedness for the next pandemic, building on lessons learned from Covid-19.
For example, Hong Kong had expanded its citywide sewage surveillance programme, initially introduced for Covid-19, to cover other pathogens, including seasonal flu and polio, he noted.
Infection-control capabilities among frontline staff in high-risk settings, including residential care homes, were being strengthened through systematic training, he added.
The minister also pointed to a new emerging disease preparedness research fund established to translate insights into real-world strategies for pandemic preparedness.
Lo added that Hong Kong had leveraged its unique position under the “one country, two systems” governing principle to build collaborative bridges, aligning with the national 15th five-year plan through efforts in pandemic preparedness and medical innovation.
The Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute, for example, was established in 2024 to coordinate multi-centre, cross-boundary clinical trials that meet both national and international standards, serving as a one-stop agency for medical research and development institutions worldwide.
“It connects Hong Kong’s world-class universities with the Greater Bay Area’s population of 87 million, offering a diverse and accessible patient pool for rapid trial recruitment during outbreaks,” the health minister said.
Lo added that the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, to be established this year, would also strengthen international collaboration and expedite patient access to safe and effective medical products, while reinforcing pandemic preparedness.
“The hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship rings the bell again to warn us that the next pandemic is not hypothetical – it is a matter of when, not if,” he said.
“Our task today is not to predict its arrival, but to ensure that when it comes, we are not caught unprepared. True pandemic preparedness demands global collaboration. Hong Kong stands ready to be a partner to the world and the WHO.
“Let us ensure that when history writes the story of the next pandemic, it is not one of misguided actions, missed warnings or closed borders, but of swift, collaborative and compassionate action.”
The Department of Health said last Thursday that it had distributed the latest health information and guidelines to the travel industry, including cruise and airline operators, on the latest epidemiological developments of the virus and preventive measures.
It had also provided information on rodent control to relevant parties and reminded them to strengthen environmental hygiene.
It pledged to continue conducting health screenings of arrivals at all border checkpoints, perform assessments for those with a fever and refer them to hospitals for medical examination when needed.
Organised by the government and the Trade Development Council, the two-day summit brings together policymakers, healthcare experts and industry players to exchange insights and explore opportunities for collaboration.
It features more than 90 speakers from 15 countries, including Nobel Prize-winning chemist Professor Michael Levitt.
The Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair also opened on Monday, featuring more than 300 exhibitors from 10 countries and regions showcasing the latest innovations.


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Leader John Lee and health chief Lo Chung-mau highlight city’s unique role in boosting global pandemic readiness at summit


Leader John Lee and health chief Lo Chung-mau highlight city’s unique role in boosting global pandemic readiness at summit.


Hong Kong leverages ‘unrivalled’ medical hub status amid global hantavirus alarm

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Leader John Lee and health chief Lo Chung-mau highlight city’s unique role in boosting global pandemic readiness at summit

Leader John Lee and health chief Lo Chung-mau highlight city’s unique role in boosting global pandemic readiness at summit