HONG KONG -- Hong Kong people are full of gratitude for the central authorities' support for the global financial hub to fight COVID-19, especially under the fifth wave of the epidemic when there is a temporary shortage of supplies and medical staff.

Community worker So Ka Lok has participated in the delivery of supplies from the central authorities and distributed supplies to COVID-19 patients.

"Seeing boxes of supplies, I am very grateful for the central authorities' support for Hong Kong to fight the epidemic, which has stabilized the society. We are confident in defeating the epidemic," So said.

Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, the central authorities have provided timely assistance, from community isolation facilities to medical supplies, medicines, protective equipment and fresh vegetables, at this difficult time.

In late February, confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the building where Hong Kong resident Ms. Kwong lived. She was very worried about the health of her family with senior people and kids.

Kwong and other residents living in the same building were required to undergo mandatory nucleic acid tests. But with only about 10 booths open, there were long lines at the testing center and sometimes it took people more than two hours to get tested, Kwong said.

"The days when we took the tests were the coldest days in Hong Kong," Kwong said.

She said it was difficult to stand in line in heavy rain and strong wind while taking care of her kids.

Kwong added that after the arrival of the nucleic acid support team from the mainland, seven more testing booths were added and the testing process ran much faster. Moreover, the test results came out quickly and Kwong was relieved to see her whole family tested negative each time.

Hong Kong civil servant surnamed Chong had to contact different people at work and wanted to get some medicines in case he needed them, but it was hard to buy them on the market.

When feeling troubled, Chong got Lianhua Qingwen capsules, a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used to treat COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases, donated by the central authorities.

"I am really touched. Hong Kong and the mainland are one family and we will definitely defeat the epidemic together," Chong said.

As of Tuesday, the medical supplies procured with the co-ordination by the central authorities included 86 million rapid antigen test kits received and various kinds of personal protective equipment. These included over 180 million N95 masks, KN95 masks and surgical masks, as well as over 14 million articles of other protective equipment.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government announced on Tuesday that the supply of fresh food from the mainland on Monday was largely stable, with plenty of supplies of vegetables, live pigs and eggs.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong registered 11,956 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 15,809 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.