Author Archives: hksar gov

     The public art project “City Dress Up: Seats．Together”, which is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and organised by the Art Promotion Office (APO), has received three awards in the DFA Awards 2018. The award presentation ceremony was held today (December 4) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
 
     The project won a Grand Award with Special Mention under the DFA Design for Asia Awards 2018, while the artistic furniture “Hack-a-Bench” by artists Dylan Kwok and Hinz Pak at Aldrich Bay Park and “Cultural Backyard” by artist group KaCaMa Design Lab at Mody Road Garden both won Merit Awards.
 
     A spokesman for the LCSD said, “The APO has been striving to provide high-quality and diverse visual art activities and services, so as to connect art with the community and to encourage people to embrace art in their daily life. The awards have recognised the efforts of the APO and the participating artists in promoting public art, and prove that the standard of local artistic creations has been affirmed internationally.”

     The DFA Awards Exhibition introducing details of the awarded works will be held from December 6 to 8 during DesignInspire 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. For details of the exhibition, please visit www.hktdc.com/ncs/designinspire2018/en/main/index.html.
 
     The DFA Awards was launched by the Hong Kong Design Centre in 2003, under which the DFA Design for Asia Awards aims to celebrate design excellence and acknowledge outstanding designs with Asian perspectives. The Awards provides a stage upon which design talents and corporations can showcase their design projects internationally. For details of the Awards, please visit dfaa.dfaawards.com/winner/.
 
     Apart from the above-mentioned awards, the artistic furniture “Cultural Backyard” has also won Korea’s Asia Design Prize 2018. In addition, 10 sets of artistic furniture under the project have been included in the China Public Art Annual 2017 and the project will also be featured in the coming 3rd China Design Exhibition & Public Art Thematic Exhibition in Shenzhen.
 
     Since its establishment in 2001, the APO has won over 10 international and local awards, among which park furniture-related prizes also include Hong Kong Public Space Awards 2013 – Winner of Urban Park. Other prize-winning projects have included “XCHANGE: Social Gastronomy”, which was awarded in Japan’s Good Design Best 100 2016, and the art space Oi! was the winner of the Best Public Space in the Hong Kong Public Space Awards 2016.
 
      The “City Dress Up: Seats．Together” public art project was launched in July last year and will last for three years. It displays 20 sets of innovative seats at 20 venues managed by the LCSD across the 18 districts, offering members of the public a fun and unique outdoor experience. For details of the project, please visit the website www.seatstogether.hk or the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/apo.seatstogether).

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     Police located a woman who went missing in Tin Sum.      Lo Lai-chun, aged 86, went missing after she left Prince of Wales Hospital yesterday (December 3) morning. Her family made a report to Po… read more

     Police located a woman who went missing in Tin Sum.      Lo Lai-chun, aged 86, went missing after she left Prince of Wales Hospital yesterday (December 3) morning. Her family made a report to Po… read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (December 4) investigating a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) cases, involving three patients, and stressed the importance of using and maintaining properly designed man-made water systems and that susceptible groups should strictly observe relevant precautions.

     The CHP announced two community-acquired LD cases on November 26, involving a 61-year-old male patient and a 76-year-old female patient. The CHP’s subsequent genetic analysis of the Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 culture isolate from the respiratory specimens of the two patients revealed an identical sequence-based type.
 
     Subsequently, one additional community-acquired LD case was recorded by the CHP. The male patient, aged 69 with underlying illnesses, lives in Tower 3A, The Wings IIIA, 19 Tong Yin Street, Tseung Kwan O. Genetic analysis of the infecting bacterial strain is in progress.

     “Epidemiological investigations revealed that the three patients had no travel history in the incubation period (IP). However, they all either resided in or visited The Wings IIIA in the IP. Investigations are ongoing to identify potential sources of infection, if any,” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     “The CHP has already collected relevant water samples from potential sources, namely a water fountain at the main entrance and a waterfall between Towers 2 and 3, in The Wings IIIA for testing. As a precautionary measure, the management office of The Wings IIIA suspended the operation of the water fountain and the waterfall,” the spokesman added.
 
     “Men, people aged over 50, smokers, alcoholics and persons with weakened immunity are more susceptible to LD. Some situations may also increase the risk of infection, including poor maintenance of water systems leading to stagnant water; living in areas with old water systems, cooling towers or fountains; using electric water heaters, whirlpools and spas or hot water spring spas; and recent stays in hotels or vessels,” the spokesman said.

     Legionellae are found in various environmental settings and grow well in warm water (20 to 45 degrees Celsius). They can be found in aqueous environments such as water tanks, hot and cold water systems, cooling towers, whirlpools and spas, water fountains and home apparatus which support breathing. People may get infected when they breathe in contaminated droplets (aerosols) and mist generated by artificial water systems, or when handling garden soil, compost and potting mixes.

     Immunocompromised persons should:
 

• Use sterile or boiled water for drinking, tooth brushing and mouth rinsing;
• Avoid using humidifiers, or other mist- or aerosol-generating devices. A shower may also generate small aerosols; and
• If using humidifiers, or other mist- or aerosol-generating devices, fill the water tank with only sterile or cooled freshly boiled water, and not water directly from the tap. Also, clean and maintain humidifiers/devices regularly according to manufacturers’ instructions. Never leave stagnant water in a humidifier/device. Empty the water tank, wipe all surfaces dry, and change the water daily.

     The public should observe the health advice below:
 

• Observe personal hygiene;
• Do not smoke and avoid alcohol consumption;
• Strainers in water taps and shower heads should be inspected, cleaned, descaled and disinfected regularly or at a frequency recommended by the manufacturer;
• If a fresh water plumbing system is properly maintained, it is not necessary to install domestic water filters. Use of water filters is not encouraged as clogging occurs easily, which can promote growth of micro-organisms. In case water filters are used, the pore size should be 0.2 micrometres (µm) and the filter needs to be changed periodically according to the manufacturer’s recommendations;
• Drain and clean water tanks of buildings at least quarterly;
• Drain or purge for at least one minute the infrequently used water outlets (e.g. water taps, shower heads and hot water outlets) and stagnant points of the pipework weekly or before use;
• Seek and follow doctors’ professional advice regarding the use and maintenance of home respiratory devices and use only sterile water (not distilled or tap water) to clean and fill the reservoir. Clean and maintain the device regularly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After cleaning/disinfection, rinse the device with sterile water, cooled freshly boiled water or water filtered with 0.2 µm filters. Never leave stagnant water in the device. Empty the water tank, keep all surfaces dry, and change the water daily; and
• When handling garden soil, compost and potting mixes:

     1. Wear gloves and a face mask;
     2. Water gardens and compost gently using low pressure;
     3. Open composted potting mixes slowly and make sure the opening is directed away from the face;
     4. Wet the soil to reduce dust when potting plants; and
     5. Avoid working in poorly ventilated places such as enclosed greenhouses.

     The public may visit the CHP’s LD page, the Code of Practice for Prevention of LD and the Housekeeping Guidelines for Cold and Hot Water Systems for Building Management of the Prevention of LD Committee, and the CHP’s risk-based strategy for prevention and control of LD. read more

     The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, and Vice Minister of Science and Technology Mr Zhang Jianguo co-chaired the 13th meeting of the Mainland/Hong Kong Science and Technology Co-operation Committee held in Guangzhou today (December 4).
      
     At the meeting, Mr Yang said that it was a year of breakthroughs on the innovation and technology (I&T) co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong. These include the new policy announced in May which allowed universities and research institutions in Hong Kong to directly apply for science and technology funding of the Central Government and use the funding in Hong Kong; the signing of the Arrangement on Enhancing Innovation and Technology Cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong (the Arrangement) between the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Innovation and Technology Bureau in September; and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in November, under which the CAS will arrange for its research institutions to establish their presence in the two research clusters to be set up in Hong Kong. All these marked new milestones and signified the start of a new chapter in scientific research collaboration between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
      
     Looking ahead, he said he considered that the opening of three key technology areas under the National Key Research and Development Programme for application by 10 local universities, as well as the launch of the Mainland-Hong Kong Joint Funding Scheme early next year, would be a great encouragement for universities and research institutions in Hong Kong. “The HKSAR Government looks forward to broadening and enriching the areas of innovation and technology co-operation between both places, and taking co-operation to the next level, under the framework of the Arrangement,” Mr Yang said.
      
     Mainland members attending the meeting included representatives from the MOST, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, the CAS, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Association for Science and Technology, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, and the Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality.
      
     The Hong Kong delegation comprises representatives from the Innovation and Technology Bureau, the Innovation and Technology Commission, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Research Grants Council, the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, the Hong Kong Automotive Parts and Accessory Systems R&D Centre, the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, and Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Limited.     read more