The latest batch of the Chinese mainland medical staff on Monday arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to support the city's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. 

The team includes 36 doctors and 39 nurses from 14 public hospitals in the neighboring Guangdong Province. They work in respiratory, nephrology, cardiovascular and other departments closely related to the treatment of elderly patients.

They will work at the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo. Patients admitted to this facility are predominantly elderly and most have underlying diseases. The mainland medical staff will work to reduce the number of severe and near fatal cases.

Chui Tak-yi, under secretary for food and health of the HKSAR government, said the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong is very serious and there is an urgent need to prevent a large number of patients from developing serious illnesses.

The 75 experienced mainland medical and nursing staff will effectively enhance services in the facility so that patients can receive better care, he added.

On Monday, Hong Kong registered 12,040 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 14,868 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, according to the official data.

Aside from the mainland medical staff aid, the fourth community isolation facility (CIF) in Hong Kong constructed with the support from the mainland has also been put into operation on Sunday after it was handed over to the HKSAR government.

The newly-built CIF, located in Fanling, Hong Kong, provides over 350 rooms with more than 1,000 beds for emergency isolation.

The facility, which covers an area of about 20,000 square meters, is composed of modular cubicles, with each room equipped with basic furniture and bedding, an air conditioner and smoke sensors, among other facilities.

Read more:

HKSAR government ramping up support for people in quarantine

Third mainland-aided COVID-19 isolation facility starts operation in Hong Kong

(With input from Xinhua)