The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, visited Kwai Tsing District today (November 13) to meet with members of Kwai Tsing District Council (K&TDC) and tour the Open University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education (OUHK LiPACE) to learn about its health care programmes. The three Directors of Bureaux also separately visited a pop-up health checkup station and a secondary school.

     Mr Lau first visited Queen's College Old Boys' Association Secondary School and was briefed by the Principal cum Chairman of Kwai Tsing District Sports Association, Mr Hui Yung-chung, on how district sports association promoted rope skipping in the district and schools, and watched a rope skipping demonstration by students. He then observed students training with rowing machines and a rugby lesson, and chatted with coaches and students.

     Accompanied by the Chairman of K&TDC, Mr Law King-shing, and the District Officer (Kwai Tsing), Mr Kenneth Cheng, Dr Law and Professor Chan first went to a pop-up health checkup station of the "Project e+: Dementia Community Support Service" ("Project e+") in Cheung Fat Estate to learn about its general operations including health checks, preliminary cognitive assessments and referral of residents for detailed cognitive assessments as necessary. The two Directors of Bureaux also exchanged views with representatives of Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association on "Project e+" and dementia support services. 

     "Project e+" was launched by the Kwai Tsing District Office in collaboration with Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association under the District-led Actions Scheme. The project aims to raise community awareness of dementia, enhance early detection of people with dementia, and provide concrete support to people with dementia and their families. 

     The three Directors of Bureaux then proceeded to OUHK LiPACE together to learn about its health care training programmes. They toured the facilities for teaching and practical training, including a mock-up ward room, and met with students. The institute's health care programmes aim to equip students with the knowledge, skills and professionalism required for practice in the healthcare sector, so as to assist students to join the relevant industry or pursue further studies.

     Before concluding the visit, the three Directors of Bureaux exchanged views with K&TDC members on district issues.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited on phishing email, which has been reported to the HKMA.  Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
      
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the email concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the email should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of Singapore Limited on suspicious mobile applications (apps), which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the apps concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the apps should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     A woman was fined $10,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (November 13) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
      
     The courts heard that in April this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Gloucester Road in Causeway Bay. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.
      
     According to the OLA's record, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman responsible for managing the premise was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
      
     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
           
     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".

     The Department of Health (DH), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, today (November 13) jointly opened the two-day Regional Symposium on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Hong Kong, calling on healthcare professionals and the general public to work together on the safe use of antibiotics to combat AMR.
 
     Under the theme "Fighting AMR – Partnerships in Action", the Symposium has brought together more than 300 experts and partners from public health, human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, food, environment and the pharmaceutical industry to review the latest science and gain insights on how to do better in tackling AMR in unity.
 
     The Symposium also provides a platform for participants to exchange their expertise and experiences with an aim to raising awareness of AMR in the community in the Western Pacific region.
 
     At the opening ceremony today, the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, said that AMR poses a global threat to the sustainable development of human medicine, veterinary medicine and food security by reducing available options to treat and prevent bacterial infections, and that the "One Health" approach has been identified as a major element of AMR control and preventive strategies.
 
     "Locally, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has long recognised the growing problem of AMR, and various sectors have been implementing control measures to contain its spread. Following the establishment of the High Level Steering Committee on AMR in June 2016, the Hong Kong Strategy and Action Plan on AMR (2017-2022) was launched in July 2017 to outline the key areas, objectives and actions to contain the growing threat of AMR in Hong Kong.
 
     "The Antibiotic Stewardship Programme in Primary Care rolled out last year with a view to further improving local antibiotics prescribing behaviour and educating patients on their proper use, has received promising feedback from family doctors, while the Interhospital Multi-disciplinary Programme on Antimicrobial ChemoTherapy (IMPACT)'s mobile application developed by the DH and its partners obtained the Interactive Media Award 2018 for outstanding achievement in healthcare and education category," said Professor Chan.
 
     Also addressing the ceremony, the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, emphasised that global collaboration and a multi-sectoral "One Health" approach are essential to tackle AMR. Noting that new drug development is not the only solution for AMR, she said that the value of surveillance, efforts in optimising antibiotic use in human and animals, and the impact of infection control and awareness-raising campaigns cannot be underestimated.
 
     Dr Chan added that Hong Kong has been working hard to strengthen surveillance on antibiotic use as well as monitoring the AMR situation in the health and agricultural sectors, so as to perform targeted actions and identify effective measures to combat AMR.
 
     At the Symposium, world-renowned speakers have been invited to share their expertise and experience in translating their AMR action plans into action. Speakers include, amongst others, the Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester and Author of the Review on AMR of the United Kingdom, Lord O'Neill; the Lead of AMR Surveillance of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Carmem Pessoa-Silva; and the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Dr Juan Lubroth.
 
     The Symposium is one of the major events taking place in conjunction with World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) 2018 from November 12 to 18. In parallel with WAAW 2018, healthcare professionals are again requested to refer to the guidelines on the use and choice of antibiotics, while patients should strictly adhere to doctors' instructions and should not use antibiotics indiscriminately. For more information on these issues, please visit the WHO's page on WAAW 2018 and page of the DH's Centre for Health Protection.