Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday pinned high hopes on traditional Chinese medicine in preventing critical illnesses and deaths for Hong Kong's COVID-19 battle.

She made the remarks at Shenzhen Bay Port when she welcomed the arrival of a seven-member traditional Chinese medicine expert delegation visiting Hong Kong.

The experts will join the 20 TCM practitioners from the Chinese mainland who arrived earlier to treat COVID-19 patients, especially older adults, at the AsiaWorld-Expo community treatment facility. The team is led by Tong Xiaolin, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head researcher of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

Lam said the use of Chinese medicine in curing infected COVID-19 patients, which has proven to be very effective in the mainland, will be beneficial to Hong Kong's anti-pandemic goal of preventing critical illnesses and deaths.

"As we all know, Chinese medicine is also very effective in rehabilitation. After a COVID-19 patient has been cured, particularly an elderly patient, the use of Chinese medicine can also help with a speedy recovery," Lam said.

The arrival of the leading TCM experts is also a good opportunity for both sides to work together and have useful exchanges, not only in dealing with this public health crisis but also for Hong Kong's objective to promote the development of Chinese medicine, Lam said.