Health minister Lo Chung-mau on Sunday said the government will ensure the supply of paracetamol in Hong Kong, calming fears that there is a shortage of the drug in the SAR.

As the number of Covid infections is on the rise again, some shops have been limiting the number of boxes of paracetamol customers can buy in one go because of higher demand.

Lo said there is no need for people to overreact, stressing that public hospitals have the drug in stock.

The health minister also stressed that the LeaveHomeSafe app is here to stay, despite refreshed calls from medical experts for it to be shelved.

"We had Sars before and we have other various infectious diseases, and we now have Covid, which is still evolving," he told reporters after attending an event.

"I would say that we may adjust the function of the LeaveHomeSafe app, but I think it's a very good app which has helped Hong Kong in the fight against pandemic, perhaps in the future we may still rely on it to fight against other emerging infectious diseases."

Lo did not elaborate on the adjustments of the app's function, but said it played an important role in contact tracing.

When asked about when Hong Kong can shelve the LeaveHomeSafe app, Chief Executive John Lee said he's asked the Health Bureau for a comprehensive review of anti-Covid measures to see what sort of adjustments can be made.

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Last updated: 2022-12-11 HKT 13:15