Attention TV/radio announcers:
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:
Here is an item of interest to swimmers.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (August 18) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Hung Shing Yeh Beach and Lower Cheung Sha Beach in Islands District. Beach-goers are advised not to swim at these beaches.
Owing to the thunderstorm warning, the flag-raising ceremony to be conducted at Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai at 8am today (August 18) will be cancelled.
Three charities have been issued Public Subscription Permits to hold flag sales from 7am to 12.30pm today (August 18). They are, on Hong Kong Island, Eternal Flame Action; in Kowloon, Hong Kong Women Workers' Association; and in the New Territories, the Parents' Association of Pre-school Handicapped Children, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said.
Arrangements have been made with the charities to help people distinguish between the three flag-selling activities.
Information on the three flag-selling organisations on August 18 is as follows:
| Region | Name of Organisation | Colour of Collection Bag | Colour of Flag |
| Hong Kong Island | Eternal Flame Action | White | Light Green |
| Kowloon | Hong Kong Women Workers' Association | Pink | Pink |
| New Territories | The Parents' Association of Pre-school Handicapped Children | Red | Yellow |
For enquiries, please call the SWD's hotline at 2343 2255, or the Charitable Fund-raising Control Team at 2832 4311 during office hours. Information on the flag days of the month is available at the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_whatsnew). Permits for flag days containing contact information of the flag-selling organisations and information on the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_controlofc/sub_recentlyap). For enquiries about the detailed flag-selling arrangements, please contact the individual flag-selling organisations.
Details of the charitable fund-raising activities covered by the Public Subscription Permit issued by the SWD have also been uploaded to the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising).
In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added.
A special meeting of the Government's inter-departmental Pest Control Steering Committee was held today (August 17) to provide a platform for relevant policy bureaux and departments to better grasp the latest situation of the recent local cases of dengue fever, take immediate enhanced mosquito control work in areas under their purview and carry out the "All-out Anti-mosquito Operation" (Operation). The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, also attended the meeting.
Mr Cheung said, "I instruct the relevant bureaux and departments to make reference to the modus operandi of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to carry out anti-mosquito work in areas under their purview, with enhanced strength, coverage and intensity, for co-operating with the Operation in a concerted manner."
Professor Chan, said, "Owing to the continued occurrence of the confirmed dengue fever cases recently, we need to carry out the Operation. As it is the early stage of the outbreak, it is important to take immediate and effective measures to contain the situation.
"The co-operation of all government departments and the participation of all members of the public are crucial for mosquito control. The Food and Health Bureau had already issued letters to the Environmental Hygiene Committees of the 18 District Councils (DC), urging the respective DC to proactively take part in mosquito control work and organise various anti-mosquito operations through the participation by local organisations and mobilisation of their building management networks. These include inspecting areas of particular concern, assisting in education and publicity with a view to raising the awareness of the general public in mosquito prevention and control, and encouraging the community's co-operation in promoting and actively participating in anti-mosquito work in private premises like households and housing estates," she said.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health explained to the attendees the details of the local dengue fever cases and its risk assessment. According to the current epidemiological information, the outbreak of local dengue fever is still at the early stage, which is a critical moment. Prompt, continuous, intensive and effective anti-mosquito operation must be carried out at this stage to prevent further spread of dengue fever and becoming an endemic disease.
The FEHD briefed the attendees about the territory-wide anti-mosquito actions conducted in the past two days. The FEHD commenced the third phase of the territory-wide anti-mosquito campaign yesterday and enhanced the implementation of the Operation for a period of 10 weeks. During the period, the FEHD, together with the relevant bureaux/departments and the Hospital Authority, will carry out the Operation in areas under their purview. The measures include:
* carrying out fogging in the scrubby areas within 200-metre radius of the residences every week to kill adult mosquitoes;
* carrying out inspection of venues, removing stagnant water, applying insecticide and disposing of abandoned water containers every week with a view to preventing mosquito breeding; and
* trimming of grass to discourage the resting of adult mosquitoes on the site and facilitate mosquito control work.
All District Environmental Hygiene Offices of the FEHD will prepare a target list covering all the problematic areas within the districts for arrangement of the fogging operations. In addition, the FEHD will enhance mosquito control measures in particular to the areas with Area Ovitrap Indices reaching or above 10 per cent in 2018 and locations with repeated complaints on mosquito infestation.
At the meeting, the FEHD urged all departments to take anti-mosquito measures and carry out the Operation in areas under their purview proactively to kill adult mosquitoes (including those possibly carrying the virus) at a large scale with a view to reducing the risk of the spread of dengue fever.
On public education, the FEHD will widely distribute anti-mosquito posters and pamphlets through close liaison with the relevant government departments and local organisations to enhance public awareness of mosquito prevention and control.
Starting from last month, the survey frequency for all the 57 surveillance areas has been increased from one week per month to two weeks per month. Furthermore, the frequency of survey in all sea and land ports has also been increased from two weeks per month to a weekly basis. Dengue virus and Zika virus testing will continue to be carried out on mosquito samples collected from community areas where Area Ovitrap Indices have reached or exceeded 10 per cent, areas related to local dengue fever cases and in all port areas.
Furthermore, the Education Bureau will remind schools to carry out mosquito control work before the start of the new school year.
Today's meeting was chaired by the Under Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Chui Tak-yi. Government bureaux, departments and organisations attending the meeting were the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department; the Architectural Services Department; the Civil Engineering and Development Department; the Department of Health; the Development Bureau; the Drainage Services Department; the Education Bureau; the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department; the Environmental Protection Department; the FEHD; the Government Property Agency; the Hospital Authority; the Home Affairs Department; the Housing Department; the Highways Department; the Information Services Department; the Lands Department; the Leisure and Cultural Services Department; the Social Welfare Department; the Transport Department; and the Water Supplies Department.
In the rainy season, the public should take heed of the following advice on mosquito control:
To reduce the risk of infections spread by mosquitoes, apart from general measures, travellers returning from affected areas should apply insect repellent for 14 days (Dengue Fever) or at least 21 days (Zika Virus Infection) upon arrival in Hong Kong. If feeling unwell, seek medical advice promptly and provide travel details to the doctor. DEET-containing insect repellents are effective and the public should take heed of the tips below:
* For children who travel to countries or areas where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic or epidemic and where exposure is likely, those aged 2 months or above can use DEET-containing insect repellents with a DEET concentration of up to 30 per cent.
The public should call 1823 in case of mosquito problems and may visit the dengue fever pages of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, the latest Travel Health News, tips for using insect repellents, the CHP Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the FEHD's Guidebook on Control and Prevention of Mosquito Breeding for more information.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is investigating today (August 17) four additional local cases of dengue fever (DF) and announces the latest laboratory investigation results on the three local cases of DF confirmed yesterday. The CHP again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.
Further laboratory investigation revealed that the genetic sequences of the virus from the three local cases of DF announced yesterday are identical to other three cases confirmed on August 15.
Regarding the additional cases recorded today, the first case involves a 70-year-old male patient with good past health, who developed fever, headache, myalgia and arthralgia since August 8 and skin rash on August 13. He sought medical attention at the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of United Christian Hospital on August 15 and was admitted for treatment on the same today. He has all along been in a stable condition and his blood sample tested positive for dengue virus serotype 1 upon laboratory testing.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient lives in Tung Tau (II) Estate in Wong Tai Sin. The patient had gone hiking at Lion Rock Park frequently during the incubation period. However, he did not recall any mosquito bites.
The second case involves a 55-year-old male patient with good past health, who developed fever, headache, myalgia, arthralgia and skin rash since August 9. He was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for treatment yesterday. He has all along been in a stable condition and his blood sample tested positive for dengue virus serotype 1 upon laboratory testing.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient lives in Tin Ma Court in Wong Tai Sin. The patient went to the Lion Rock Park for walk frequently during the incubation period and recalled history of mosquito bite in the Park.
The third case involves a 71-year-old male patient with underlying illnesses, who developed fever, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, nausea and anorexia since August 10. He sought medical attention at the AED of QEH yesterday and was admitted on the same day. He has all along been in a stable condition and his blood sample tested positive for dengue virus serotype 1 upon laboratory testing.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient lives in Tsui Chuk Garden in Wong Tai Sin. The patient went to the Lion Rock Park frequently for exercise during the incubation period and recalled history of mosquito bite in the Park.
The fourth case involves a 40-year-old female patient with good past health, who developed fever and myalgia since August 14. She sought medical attention at the AED of QEH on August 15 and was admitted on the same day. She has all along been in a stable condition and her blood sample tested positive for dengue virus serotype 1 upon laboratory testing.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient lives in Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei. The patient had visited the barbecue area at Lion Rock Park for barbecue during the incubation period and recalled history of mosquito bite in the Park.
The home contacts of the four additional cases have remained asymptomatic and have been put under medical surveillance.
"We are working closely with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to assess and prevent possible spread of infection. The FEHD's vector investigations, surveillance and control are ongoing. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Home Affairs Department are also following up on the matter. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing," the spokesman said.
"The CHP is today continuing the epidemiological investigations into the seven local cases of DF announced earlier. CHP officers has conducted a site visit to Lion Rock Park and held a health talk together with FEHD officers today to provide health advice for the workers of the Park. The CHP has also conducted questionnaire surveys. As of 5pm today, 15 questionnaires involving 16 persons had been collected. Among them, two reported history of DF symptoms and 10 took blood for testing," the spokesman said.
"CHP Officers have also conducted a site visit today to the patients' home in Portland Street in Yau Ma Tei as announced yesterday and carried out active case finding. As of 5pm today, three questionnaires involving 11 persons had been collected. Among them, none reported DF symptoms. No abnormalities have been detected so far. Besides, the CHP will hold health talks together with the FEHD at Kai Tak Community Hall (3pm) and Henry G. Leong Yaumatei Community Centre (noon) on next Monday."
Persons who have been to the vicinity of Wong Tai Sin (particularly Lion Rock Park), Kwai Shing West Estate, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Hillside Road, Highland Park, Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground, Wing Yiu Street, Tak Long Estate, Portland Street and Shanghai Street with DF symptoms should call the CHP's hotline (2125 1122) for laboratory investigation or referral as appropriate. The hotline operates from 9am to 5.45pm daily. Since August 14 to 5pm today, 54 enquiries had been received.
"We have informed the Guangdong and Macau health authorities to alert them to the latest situation," the spokesman added.
These are the eighth to 11th local cases recorded this year. Separately, from August 10 to 17, the CHP recorded two confirmed imported DF cases. The patients had been to Indonesia and India (one case each) during the incubation period. Excluding the local cases, as of today, 57 imported cases had been recorded in 2018. The cases were mainly imported from Thailand (25), the Philippines (10) and Cambodia (seven).
In the rainy season, the public should take heed of the following advice on mosquito control:
To reduce the risk of infections spread by mosquitoes, apart from general measures, travellers returning from affected areas should apply insect repellent for 14 days (DF) or at least 21 days (Zika Virus Infection) upon arrival in Hong Kong. If feeling unwell, seek medical advice promptly and provide travel details to the doctor. DEET-containing insect repellents are effective and the public should take heed of the tips below:
* For children who travel to countries or areas where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic or epidemic and where exposure is likely, those aged 2 months or above can use DEET-containing insect repellents with a DEET concentration of up to 30 per cent.
The public should call 1823 in case of mosquito problems and may visit the DF pages of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, the latest Travel Health News, tips for using insect repellents, the CHP Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the FEHD's Guidebook on Control and Prevention of Mosquito Breeding for more information.