A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (April 4) reminded members of the public not to bring live birds into Hong Kong without a valid health certificate or they might face prosecution.
 
   An incoming local man was intercepted by the Police at the Sha Tau Kok Control Point during an inspection today. 121 birds without valid health certificates, including 60 heads of Scaly-breasted Munia, 15 heads of Willow Warbler, 40 heads of Oriental Magpie Robin and 6 heads of suspected African Grey Parrot which is an endangered species, were seized from his bag. The birds of unknown source were transported to Animal Management Centre and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point. After taking samples for avian influenza testing, birds which are not endangered species have been disposed. Follow-up investigations by the AFCD are underway.
 
     African Grey Parrot is listed in Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and regulated under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap 586) in Hong Kong. Any person importing, exporting, re-exporting or possessing endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years. The specimens will also be forfeited upon conviction.
 
     Under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Regulation (Cap 139A), any person who imports live birds or poultry without a valid health certificate issued by the veterinary authority in the country of export is liable to a fine of $25,000 and forfeiture of such animals.
 
     The spokesman said the AFCD will continue to work closely with the Customs and the Police to combat illegal importation of poultry and birds to minimise the risk of avian influenza outbreak brought by imported poultry and birds that had not gone through inspection and quarantine.
 
     Suspected cases of illegal keeping of poultry or illegal import of poultry or birds should be reported to 1823.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (April 4) investigating seven additional cases of measles infection of which two are workers at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

​     As at 4pm today, two cases involving HKIA workers, one male and one female, were recorded. The first case involves a 23-year-old man with good past health, who developed fever since March 30 and rash since April 1. He sought medical attention at the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) at Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) on March 31 and the AED at North Lantau Hospital (NLH) on the next day, and was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) for admission and treatment on the same day. A laboratory test of his respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. He has been in a stable condition. He had received three doses of measles vaccinations. He had no travel history during the incubation period or the communicable period.

     The second case involves a 24-year-old woman with good past health, who developed rash since April 2. She sought medical attention at a general practitioner and attended the AED at PWH on the same day and was admitted for treatment. A laboratory test of her respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. She has been in a stable condition. She had received three doses of measles vaccination. She had travelled to Taipei during the incubation period but had no travel history during the communicable period.
    
     Meanwhile, the CHP is investigating five other case of measles infection. The third case involves a 31-year-old man with good past health, who developed fever and rash since March 30. He sought medical attention at a general practitioner on the same day and attended the AED at Tin Shui Wai Hospital (TSWH) on the next day and was transferred to Pok Oi Hospital for admission and treatment. A laboratory test of his respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. He has been in a stable condition. He reported to have measles vaccination. He had travelled to Shenzhen during the incubation period and the communicable period.
 
     The fourth case involves a 31-year-old man with good past health, who developed fever since March 30 and rash since April 2. He sought medical attention at a general practitioner on April 2. He then attendedthe AED at Queen Mary Hospital  on April 2 and 3 respectively and was admitted for treatment on April 3. A laboratory test of his respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. He has been in a stable condition. He reported to have measles vaccination. He had travelled to Vietnam during the incubation period but had no travel history during the communicable period.
 
     The fifth case involves a 22-year-old man with good past health, who developed fever since March 30 and rash since April 1. He sought medical attention at the AED at Caritas Medical Centre and then at the AED at PMH on April 2 and was admitted for treatment at PMH on the same day. A laboratory test of his respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. He has been in a stable condition. He had received one dose of measles vaccination. He had travelled to Japan during the incubation period and had travelled to Macao during the communicable period.
 
     The sixth case involves an 11-month-old baby boy with good past health, who developed fever since March 28 and rash since April 1. He was taken to the AED at United Christian Hospital on April 1 for medical attention and was admitted for treatment. A laboratory test of his respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. He has been in a stable condition. The patient is not yet suitable for measles vaccination. He had lived in Shenzhen during the incubation period and had no travel history during the communicable period.

       The seventh case involves a 2-year-old girl with good past health, who developed fever on March 30 and rash since March 31. She was taken to the AED at TSWH for medical advice on March 31 and was transferred to PMH for admission and management on the next day. A laboratory test of her respiratory specimen was positive for the measles virus. She has been in a stable condition. She had received one dose of measles vaccination. She had no travel history during the incubation period but had travelled to Shenzhen during the communicable period.
 
     According to all patients, they did not have contact with measles patients during the incubation period. Their home contacts have remained asymptomatic so far and have been put under medical surveillance.

​     Upon notification of the cases, the CHP immediately commenced epidemiological investigations and conducted relevant contact tracing. Initial investigations revealed that no contact has shown measles-related symptoms so far. Investigations are ongoing. The public places the patients visited during the communicable period are listed in the appendix.

     "The incubation period (the period from infection to appearance of illness) of measles ranges from seven days to 21 days. Members of the general public who have visited the public places listed in the appendix during the period should observe if they develop relevant symptoms, such as fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes in seven to 21 days (the medical surveillance period). If symptoms arise, they should wear surgical masks, stop going to work or school and avoid going to crowded places. They should also avoid contact with non-immune persons, especially persons with weakened immunity, pregnant women and children aged below 1. Those suspected to have been infected are advised to seek medical attention as early as possible and reveal relevant contact history of measles to healthcare professionals," a spokesman for the DH said.

     Upon confirmation of measles outbreak, the DH has implemented control measures at the airport including vaccination and blood testing services. A total of 93 persons received measles vaccination at the vaccination stations as at 5pm today, bringing the cumulative number of vaccinations given to 7,878. Eight blood samples have been collected today. The DH will notify the participants individually of the serology results. A hotline (2125 1122) has been set up for public enquiries and operates from 9am to 5.45pm daily. As of 5pm today, the hotline had received a total of 2,824 enquiries.

     From tomorrow to next Friday (April 5 to 12), the vaccination quota for the measles vaccination station at the airport remains at 500 doses daily. Vaccination to eligible airport staff will be provided to the following target groups:

(1) Born in or after 1967, and have not received two doses of measles vaccination, and have not been infected with measles before, and with evidence of living with infants under 1 year old or living with pregnant women; or

(2) Have laboratory evidence of testing not positive against measles antibody (IgG).

     Details of evidence are as follows:

(a) Supporting documents for living with infants under 1-year-old: for example birth certificate, discharge summary or vaccination card of the infant
(b) Supporting documents for living with pregnant women: for example, positive pregnancy tests or antenatal follow-up cards of the pregnant women
(c) Supporting documents for laboratory evidence: for example blood results from the DH's measles serology test or any laboratory within the past 12 months

       The venue and operation hours of the airport vaccination station are as follows:
   

 
     As for the blood test service, the DH will continue with the provision of a measles serology test service for airport staff to identify those who need the measles vaccination. From next Monday to Friday (April 8 to 12), the DH will provide blood test service daily to around 100 airport staff who were born in or after 1967, with priority to be given to staff belonging to target group (1). The blood test service will be suspended from tomorrow to Sunday (April 5 to 7).
 
     The venue and operation hours of the airport blood test station are as follows:
   

     The intelligent robotic system, the development of which was initiated by the Highways Department (HyD) and which was co-invented and successfully built by the HyD and the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), won the Gold Award of the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 – Smart Mobility Award (Smart Transportation Stream) today (April 4). The intelligent robotic system possesses full cognitive abilities to understand its surroundings and uses automated robot arms to place and collect traffic cones and lanterns on public roads. The Hong Kong ICT Awards aim at recognising and promoting outstanding information and communications technology (ICT) inventions and applications, thereby encouraging innovation and excellence among Hong Kong's ICT talents and enterprises to meet social needs. 
 
     The HyD always attaches great importance to safety in road works, accords first priority to the safety of engineering site staff and has been striving to enhance safety protection for carrying out road works on public roads. Given that the engineering site staff may face higher risk when setting up and collecting traffic cones and lanterns on public roads late at night, the HyD has therefore been striving to study the use of advanced technology to adopt an automated approach to replace the engineering site staff in carrying out relevant works under more dangerous situations in order to protect their safety. To this end, the HyD and the HKPC have co-invented the automated intelligent robotic system suitable for use under the road conditions in Hong Kong.
 
     The HyD and the HKPC have successfully verified the concept, and designed and built the intelligent robotic system, fitted with cameras, sensors and robotic arms, with full cognitive abilities to understand its surroundings to place and collect traffic cones and lanterns on public roads. The system is the first of its kind in the world. The HyD and the HKPC are currently carrying out detailed design for the formal application of the intelligent robotic system in road works. Upon completion of design and assembly, site trials will be carried out with a view to commencing its use on public roads in the near future.

    

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, presented the Award of the Year for the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 to Redspots Creative (Hong Kong) Co Ltd at the presentation ceremony tonight (April 4). The company, which is also the Grand Award Winner of the Digital Entertainment Grand Award, outclassed seven other Grand Award category winners with its winning entry Virtual Idol System and achieved the highest accolade.
 
     Mrs Lam said that the ICT Awards reflect Hong Kong's business and community life with award categories ranging from digital entertainment, FinTech, start-ups and smart business to smart living, smart mobility, smart people and student innovation. Noting that ICT is also a core component in many smart city applications, Mrs Lam encouraged the winners to continue their commitment to innovation and technology excellence and create a better future for the community.
 
     Since its debut in 2006, the Awards have been recognising and promoting outstanding information and communications technology inventions and applications. It is also a springboard for award winners to excel further and extend their market presence in the international arena. During the past year, a total of 16 winning entries from the last Hong Kong ICT Awards have won further awards at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards.
 
     Steered by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) and with the concerted efforts of all Leading Organisers, the Steering Committee and Standards Assurance Sub-committee, the Grand Judging Panel, judges and supporting organisations, the Hong Kong ICT Awards attracted over 800 entries this year. The Chairman of the Grand Judging Panel, Professor Rocky Tuan, praised the high standard of entries and said, "The outstanding quality of this year's entries convincingly testifies to the creativity and capability of Hong Kong's information and communications technology talent, proving that Hong Kong has what it takes and the competitive edge to develop into a world-leading smart city."
 
     At the ceremony, the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, presented Grand Awards to the winners of the eight award categories to celebrate their remarkable achievements. The winners are:
 

 
     Detailed information of the winners and the event are available on the website of the Hong Kong ICT Awards (www.hkictawards.hk).

          

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients infected with Influenza A in a male psychiatric ward, the spokesperson for Shatin Hospital gave the following update today (April 4):

     Two more patients (aged 33 and 61) presented with respiratory symptoms in the ward. Appropriate viral tests were arranged for the patients and the test results were positive for Influenza A. Both patients are being treated under isolation and are in stable condition.

     Admission to the ward concerned has been suspended and restricted visiting to the ward has been imposed. Infection control measures have already been stepped up according to established guidelines. All other patients in the ward concerned are under close surveillance.

     The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.