Hong Kong's Hospital Authority (HA) said Friday that it understands and respects the decision of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government to postpone the 2020 Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election of the HKSAR.

HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the decision on Friday and said if the election was held as scheduled, the safety of voters, candidates and staff at polling stations and counting stations would be endangered, citing that 3 million voters casting their ballots on the same day would create an "exponentially larger infection risk."

"The COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong is yet to be contained with a large number of community-acquired infections," said the HA in a statement. "The occurrence of large high-risk clusters, such as elderly homes and meal gathering groups, have exerted heavy pressure on public hospitals. Therefore, the HA understands and respects the government's decision on the arrangements for the Legislative Council election."

The HA welcomes the government's measures to reduce mass gatherings to minimize community infections and relieve pressure on public hospitals, it added.

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