Emotional distress

The COVID-19 situation troubled care homes on the mainland. Mandy Lau Shuk-yin, senior manager of the International and China division at the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation, operates the Hong Kong Jockey Club Shenzhen Society for Rehabilitation at Yee Hong Heights, one of the two mainland care homes subsidized by the Hong Kong government.

Since early March, because of the recurrent COVID-19 outbreak, Yee Hong Heights, like all other care homes in the Shenzhen, enforced closed-loop management several times, denying family visits. The restrictions triggered emotional distress for some seniors, while others requested a transfer back to care homes in Hong Kong.

Lau hoped the cross-border travel restrictions can be lifted soon. She welcomed more NGOs to operate Hong Kong-type senior care services on the mainland for more retirees. But the SAR government should help streamline administrative procedures for NGOs to operate on the mainland, she added.

The "Overall Plan for Deepening Globally Oriented Comprehensive Co-operation amongst Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in Nansha of Guangzhou" was published in June. The plan selects Nanshan to align its social security architecture with Hong Kong's for an integrated medical treatment and elder-care ecosystem.