Medical staff evacuate about 50 residents of the Salvation Army Lung Hang Residence for Senior Citizens in Sha Tin, Hong Kong on Friday, after a cook and a cleaning staff there tested positive for the virus. Photo: cnsphoto

A number of Hong Kong pro-establishment camp representatives have sought help from the central government to aid them in battling the coronavirus at a time when the number of infected in the city is surging. 

According to a report from chinanews.com, the chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Starry Lee Wai King, and the head of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, Stanley Ng Chau-pei, met He Jing, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), on Saturday and sought coronavirus help from the central government. 

They made a request to the central government to send a medical team to Hong Kong, support Hong Kong to conduct virus tests for all its citizens and help Hong Kong to build makeshift hospitals, the report noted. 

They also hoped that mainland medical institutions could cooperate with Hong Kong institutions and that the mainland could help Hong Kong establish community epidemic prevention and quarantine centers.

In a press conference on Saturday, Starry Lee Wai King and Stanley Ng Chau-pei told the media that Hong Kong is experiencing a new wave in the coronavirus threat and they are worried that the epidemic can't be brought under control in a short period of time if the HKSAR government is left alone to face the situation. 

Hong Kong reported 133 new cases of coronavirus infections on Saturday, setting a record for single-day infections. Hong Kong has seen a daily surge of more than 100 cases of coronavirus for four consecutive days. 

Starry Lee Wai King also cited He Jing as saying that the central government will fully support the HKSAR roll out of coronavirus-fighting measures and provide all necessary aid.