Religious groups mark Ching Ming Festival with videos mourning Hong Kong’s Covid-19 victims, Carrie Lam also extends condolences
- Videos from Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Confucian, Christian and Taoist groups posted on Facebook page on Ching Ming holiday.
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam said it was ‘saddening’ that over 8,000 people lost their lives to the coronavirus
Religious groups in Hong Kong have marked the Ching Ming Festival by releasing videos mourning those who lost their lives amid the coronavirus pandemic, as the city’s leader expressed sorrow over the deaths.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said it was “saddening” that more than 8,000 residents, over 90 per cent of whom were 65 or older, had died during the fifth wave of infections.
Lam extended her “deepest condolences” to the families and friends of Covid-19 patients who had died.
“The epidemic situation has caused anxiety and sorrow to members of the public who have lost their loved ones,” she said. “The [Hong Kong] government will spare no effort in working in unity with all sectors of society and leveraging the staunch support of the central government to stabilise the epidemic as soon as possible.”
Lam added the pandemic had quickly worsened since the Lunar New Year in early February, outgrowing the local government’s containment efforts. But measures had been enhanced since early March with the help of mainland China, Lam said.
Hong Kong recorded 3,254 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday – a slight increase from the 3,138 infections logged a day earlier – and 87 Covid-related deaths. The overall tally of infections stood at 1,177,814.
