Hong Kong's public hospitals are ready to handle an expected rise in flu cases during the Lunar New Year, Hospital Authority (HA) chief executive Tony Ko said on Sunday.

Speaking on a television programme, Ko said the authority has taken steps to prepare for the peak flu season.

"We have arranged additional manpower and asked colleagues to avoid taking many leaves during that period. We have also increased the number of hospital beds, so we are confident in our ability to handle an uptick in service demand," he said.

Ko, who will step down in July after serving for almost six years, said it is an appropriate time to leave and that he has no regrets.

"We have successfully overcome many challenges like the Covid pandemic. Looking at the Hospital Authority now, we've recovered our services, improved our systems, and built better cooperation with the mainland and other countries... I can see many things are on track. It's the right time to leave," he explained.

He added that the HA will continue to automate and streamline certain work processes so that clinical staff can spend more time with patients and better serve them.