Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chaired the fourth meeting of the Commission on Children today (May 23).

     The Commission agreed to implement the public engagement plan on child development-related matters. Mr Cheung said, “The Commission will gather views of stakeholders, in particular those of children, on matters related to child development. It is expected that the public engagement activities will start from the fourth quarter of 2019 and be held about every quarter thereafter, covering various topics including special needs, health, welfare, child protection, education and general child development issues such as a central databank on children.”

     In addition, the Commission set out details of the publicity plan, including a publicity campaign under the theme “Caring for Our Kids” to be launched in the third quarter of 2019 with a view to raising public awareness on children’s rights and well-being.

     The meeting also noted the measures for prevention of student suicide and promotion of students’ mental health by the Government. In collaboration with different bureaux/departments, the Education Bureau (EDB) provides appropriate support services to cater for the diverse needs of students through three levels of strategies, namely the Universal Tier targeting all students, Selective Tier targeting vulnerable students and Indicated Tier targeting students with suicidal risk.

     The Government has already strengthened professional support and services to schools. The EDB has enhanced the School-based Educational Psychology Service at public sector ordinary primary and secondary schools with a larger number of students with special educational needs. Starting from the 2018/19 school year, the Government has also provided public sector primary schools with additional resources through the New Funding Mode to enable them to implement “one school social worker for each school” as soon as possible according to school-based circumstances in order to better cater for the needs of students. To enhance teenagers’ mental health and stress resilience, the Government will implement the “two school social workers for each school” measure in more than 460 secondary schools in Hong Kong and increase the supervisory manpower accordingly.

     School social work services for primary and pre-primary school children provided by the Government aim to identify and help students whose academic, social and emotional development are at risk, and provide assistance to families in need. The Government has launched a three-year Pilot Scheme on Social Work Service for Pre-primary Institutions in three phases since February 2019. It is also trying out an appropriate mode to form a basis to assess the possibility of regularisation of the service in future.

     The meeting also noted the mental health services for children and adolescents. Cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary support and care are provided for those with mental health needs through collaboration among different bureaux and departments. The services cover healthcare, education and social services, etc. The Government has established the standing Advisory Committee on Mental Health to assist in developing policies, strategies and measures to enhance mental health services. It also follows up on and monitors the implementation of the recommendations of the Mental Health Review Report. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (May 23) investigating a case of invasive meningococcal infection, a communicable disease transmitted by direct contact with droplets from carriers or infected persons.
 
     The case involves a 5-month-old baby boy, with good past health, who had presented with fever since May 19 and rash and convulsion on May 20. He was taken to a general practitioner on May 20 for medical attention and then attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital. He was subsequently transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit of Prince of Wales Hospital for further management on the same day. His cerebrospinal fluid sample tested positive for Neisseria meningitidis upon laboratory testing. The clinical diagnosis was meningococcal meningitis. The patient is now in a serious condition.    
 
     Initial enquiries revealed that the patient had no travel history during the incubation period. His elder brother has developed upper respiratory tract infection symptoms recently and has sought medical attention. His other home contacts have remained asymptomatic so far. The CHP’s investigation is continuing.
 
     “Meningococcal infection is caused by a bacterium known as meningococcus. It is mainly transmitted by direct contact through respiratory secretions, including droplets from the nose and throat, from infected persons. The incubation period varies from two to 10 days, and is commonly three or four days,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     The clinical picture may vary. Severe illness may result when the bacteria invade the bloodstream (meningococcaemia) or the membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord (meningococcal meningitis).
 
     Meningococcaemia is characterised by sudden onset of fever, intense headache, purpura, shock and even death in severe cases. Meningococcal meningitis is characterised by high fever, severe headache and stiff neck followed by drowsiness, vomiting, fear of bright light, or a rash. It can cause brain damage or even death. The brain damage may lead to intellectual impairment, mental retardation, hearing loss and electrolyte imbalance. Invasive meningococcal infections can be complicated by arthritis, inflammation of the heart muscle, inflammation of the posterior chamber of the eye or chest infection.
 
     Meningococcal infection is a serious illness. Patients should be treated promptly with antibiotics.
 
     To prevent meningococcal infection, members of the public are advised to take heed of the following measures:
 

• Wash hands with liquid soap and water properly, especially when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions, e.g. after sneezing, and clean hands with alcohol-based handrub when they are not visibly soiled;
• Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, hold the spit with a tissue, dispose of nasal and mouth discharges in a lidded rubbish bin, and wash hands immediately;
• Avoid crowded places;
• Avoid close contact with patients who have fever or severe headache;
• Travellers to high-risk areas may consult doctors for meningococcal vaccination; and
• Travellers returning from high-risk areas should seek medical advice if they become ill and should discuss their recent travel history with their doctor.

 
     The public may visit the CHP’s website for more information on meningococcal infection. read more

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (May 22) conducted an operation to combat the sale of counterfeit shoes on a social media platform. A total of 156 pairs of suspected counterfeit shoes with an estimated market value of about $400,000 were seized.

     Customs earlier received information alleging the sale of suspected counterfeit shoes with a high degree of resemblance at an online shop on a social media platform.

     Upon investigation, Customs officers found a seller offering shoes claimed to be genuine for sale at high prices on the social media platform. To evade Customs’ tracing, only postal delivery was offered.

     After further investigation and with the assistance of trademark owners, Customs officers took enforcement action yesterday and intercepted a man suspected to be connected with the case at a courier service centre in Yuen Long and a small quantity of suspected counterfeit shoes was seized. Later, Customs officers further seized a batch of suspected counterfeit shoes, a batch of packing materials, two mobile phones and a laptop computer at the man’s residence in Yuen Long.

     Together with the counterfeit shoes involved from the victim, Customs seized a total of 156 pairs of suspected counterfeit shoes. The 24-year-old man was arrested.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     The Divisional Commander (Intellectual Property Technology Crime Investigation), Mr Lawrence Ng, reminded consumers at a press conference today (May 23) to procure goods at reputable websites or shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt. He also reminded online sellers not to sell counterfeit goods as the sale of counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the spokesperson… read more

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals: Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced… read more