Health chief defends purchase of pricey fans

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee defended the purchase of 1,500 ventilation fans for public hospitals as necessary despite costing 10 times more than normal.

Her comments came after the Hospital Authority came under fire for buying 1,500 ventilation fans to turn general wards in hospitals into negative pressure isolation ones, for as much as HK$2,000 a piece -- 10 times more expensive than normal.

In the daily press briefing on Hong Kong’s pandemic situation, Chan said the government is now “at war” with the coronavirus.

“The Hospital Authority had to make an emergency procurement for the [ventilation fans], and had to have them ready in a short period of time,” she said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor distanced her administration from the procurement. “The government did not take part in the procurement work of the Hospital Authority, and therefore we do not know the details regarding the purchase,” Lam said in the same briefing.

“Therefore this should also not be used as the basis of accusations that the government is experiencing problems in internal coordination,” she said.

Should the Hospital Authority need any medical supplies in the future, they can raise their request through the task force coordinated by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah, which will then be passed to mainland authorities, according to Lam.

A media report earlier revealed that the Hospital Authority procured 1,500 mainland-made ventilation fans to transform general wards into negative pressure isolation wards.

However, the Hospital Authority purchased the ventilation fans at around HK$1,000 to HK$2,000 a piece, but the same model only sells for HK$197 according to the factory’s official website.

Last Thursday, the Hospital Authority slammed the report for its “hasty generalization”, as it did not shed light on the fact that anti-epidemic equipment is in scarce supply under a worsening pandemic, while the logistic supply chain is also severely blocked.

It also said the procurement was completed with the help of the central government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, mainland authorities, the SAR government, lawmakers and the logistics industry, allowing the procurement to be done in just a few days.

But it later clarified in a statement on Saturday that the Liaison Office was not involved in the procurement.