Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, instructed mainland teams on Wednesday to expedite the construction of makeshift hospitals in Hong Kong and assist the special administrative region as it prepares for the mass testing for COVID-19 scheduled to begin in March.

Officiating the fifth anti-pandemic coordination meeting in Shenzhen, Xia called on the mainland departments and task forces to make every effort to give full support to the SAR government for carrying out its main responsibility in its battle against the city's worst-ever wave of the pandemic.

Expressing his full confidence in Hong Kong's anti-pandemic fight, Xia affirmed the concrete achievements made by various anti-pandemic task forces over the past week on the pandemic control, the construction of isolation facilities, and the steady supply of food and daily necessities.

Appealing joint efforts from all sectors, Xia stressed that the pandemic situation in Hong Kong is pressing, as the city's medical system is undergoing unprecedented pressure due to the exponential number of infections.

He urged all mainland medical teams and task forces to strengthen unity and cooperation, and fully assist Hong Kong in its fight against the fifth wave of the outbreak.

Since Feb 17, five coordination meetings have been held to review the progress in the assistance of Hong Kong's anti-pandemic work.