The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (February 11) visited the Contact Tracing Office at Kai Tak Community Hall to learn more about the work of tracing the contacts of COVID-19 confirmed cases. She then inspected the anti-epidemic measures at the construction site of the M+ Museum in West Kowloon Cultural District. During the visits, she extended her New Year greetings to people.
Accompanied by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, Mrs Lam visited the Contact Tracing Office of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Centre for Health Protection and was briefed on the work of tracing the contacts of confirmed cases since the establishment of the Office a month ago. Currently, some 200 members from different disciplinary services are participating in the work at the Contact Tracing Office, including the Hong Kong Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department and the Fire Services Department. Having received training from the Centre for Health Protection, they assist in locating and liaising with the contacts of confirmed cases and arrange for their admission to quarantine centres as needed. Mrs Lam was pleased to note that the Office has successfully helped trace more than 7 500 contacts of confirmed cases, which translates to the identification of five contacts for each confirmed case. Since the setting up of the Office, more than 250 contacts per day have been traced on average, which is far higher than the 100 contacts traced daily before its establishment. She thanked the colleagues for their hard work to help cut the virus transmission chain as soon as possible.
Mrs Lam and Professor Chan then visited the construction site of the M+ Museum in West Kowloon Cultural District. Also joining were the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong; members of the Legislative Council, Dr Lo Wai-kwok and Mr Tony Tse; the Chairman of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), Mr Chan Ka-kui; and the President of the Hong Kong Construction Association (HKCA), Mr Allan Chan. There, they learned more about the anti-epidemic measures implemented by the contractor at the construction site, which include the taking of body temperatures and presentation of negative virus test results at the entrance, as well as the adoption of social distancing and cleaning and disinfection measures at the canteen and rest area of workers. This construction site is also a participant of the testing programme rolled out by the CIC and the HKCA, in which a private testing agency has been arranged to provide a specimen collection service for workers at construction sites. To date, over 33 000 workers from 150 construction sites have undergone the free testing service. Mrs Lam was pleased to note that to further step up anti-epidemic measures at construction sites, the CIC and the HKCA announced that starting from February 22, all personnel will be required to present a negative result of tests conducted within the past 14 days before they are allowed to enter the construction sites for work, with a view to further reducing the risk of transmission at such sites.
"Anti-epidemic work requires community-wide participation. No matter whether it is compulsory testing, the strengthening of the contact tracing work in recent days, the 'restriction-testing declaration' operations or the upcoming vaccination programme, colleagues from various departments work together to safeguard public health. Nevertheless, the support and co-operation of members of the public is indispensable. The construction industry and many other sectors rolled out different measures recently in the hope of continuing works as scheduled and resuming business at various premises. I thank colleagues and those in various sectors in the community for their efforts to fight the virus. I hope that the epidemic can continue to subside so that people's daily lives can return to normal gradually after the Lunar New Year holidays," Mrs Lam said.
During the visit, Mrs Lam was also briefed by Mrs Betty Fung, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, on the latest progress of the works of the M+ Museum and the adjacent sites.
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