To better prepare for a potential fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, the government has recently announced that four community testing centres are to be set up on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, New Territories East and New Territories West with service commencing at 8am on November 15 (Sunday), initially for three months pending further review. These testing centres will be set up at Quarry Bay, Yau Ma Tei, Sha Tin and Yuen Long. They will be open seven days a week providing self-paid testing services for the public at a more affordable price to serve general community or private purposes such as certification for travelling or work. The price of testing services will be capped at $240. The government will also conduct testing for target groups, specified persons or other members of the public at the testing centres for public health reasons on a needs basis, and separate announcements will be issued as and when necessary. (https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202011/11/P2020111100615.htm)

As mentioned in my email message to the College membership towards the end of October, ongoing recruitment of locum doctors by the Hospital Authority (HA) to support the operational needs at both hospitals and community facilities is one of the strategies to enhance the overall preparedness for the anticipated surge demand in winter and possible next wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

The HA has recently contacted us that there are new options for locum doctors (especially private doctors) to provide on-site medical support through tele-care according to the clinical protocol for managing the COVID-19 patients in AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE). Members from our College are welcome to visit the website of Locum Office in HA at https://www.ha.org.hk/goto/locum for more information regarding the Locum Doctor recruitment. After registering as Locum Doctors in HA, training will be arranged including web-based training and on-site training in AWE covering site orientation, training on clinical protocols, infection control training as well as use of Clinical Management System (CMS) for preparing those interested for working in AWE. For enquiries about Locum Doctors in HA or difficulties in applications, please feel free to contact HA’s Locum Office at 2300 6675, or our HKCFP Secretariat at 2871 8899. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for responding to the recent call for joining the HA Locums.

It has been reported that negotiations are approaching the final stages for the first Air Travel Bubble (ATB) between Hong Kong and Singapore and it is hopeful that it will take effect towards the end of this month. Under the ATB, travelers between two destinations will be allowed to visit without having to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine or stay-at-home procedures imposed on arrivals from other destinations. They will be required to have a negative result from mutually recognised COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction tests. Both Hong Kong and Singapore are major international aviation hubs in the world and have low incidence of COVID-19 cases. Regardless of whether you are a keen traveler or not, the Hong Kong-Singapore ATB is a significant step forward. This ATB will facilitate resumption of air travel, and hence will bring benefits to the economies. It will also serve as a good pilot and example for future resumption of travel to and from other parts of the world, with the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that public health concerns are addressed.

As in the previous years, the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and the Hospital Authority are organising a Career Talk for Interns to be held on a Saturday afternoon in November. It would be arranged via an online platform for the first time too. Many thanks to Drs Alfred Kwong, Michelle Wong, and Edwin Chan for joining me to share with the interns on the HKCFP Family Medicine training. We are hoping to invite a few colleagues who are currently undergoing vocational training to share with the audience too.

A quick last minute reminder about the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Annual Conference - GP20 to be held online from 16 – 28 November 2020, do come to participate in this annual event to exchange with GPs around the globe via the online platform. (https://www.racgp.org.au/gp20/registration/register)

As we are entering the final month of the year, please be reminded to renew your annual practicing certificate with the Medical Council of Hong Kong, if you have not done so already.

Please keep well and stay safe.