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     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, attended the first plenary meeting of the leading group for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a member at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing today (August 15). The meeting was hosted and convened by the Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, to discuss and plan for priority areas of work for the next stage of the Bay Area’s development. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, sat in on the meeting as working staff.

      Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to the Central Government for setting up the leading group as a top-tier body to advance the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and strengthen its co-ordination. Noting that Hong Kong’s integration into the development of the Bay Area will enrich the implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” and is conducive to maintaining Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, she said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will seize the opportunity and collaborate fully in the development of the Bay Area.
 
     She reported at the meeting the latest work progress of Hong Kong on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub, including the advancement of I&T development by the HKSAR Government in accordance with the eight-pronged approach set out in the Policy Address delivered last year, establishment of a presence in the two research clusters to be set up at the Hong Kong Science Park by the Chinese Academy of Sciences for its research institutions to enable collaboration with local higher education institutions or research and development (R&D) centres for R&D projects; a co-operation arrangement to be signed between the national Ministry of Science and Technology and the Innovation and Technology Bureau of the HKSAR Government to promote exchanges and collaboration on science and technology; and the establishment of a Bay Area academician alliance in Hong Kong to promote the participation of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in the development of the Bay Area.
 
     In the evening, Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, as well as Mr Nip and Mr Chan, visited China Railway Corporation (CR) to meet with the General Manager of CR, Mr Lu Dongfu, and tour its dispatch and command centre. The centre is responsible for monitoring the operation and dispatch of the major rail lines in the Mainland to ensure their smooth running.
 
     Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to CR for its staunch support in the construction of and operational arrangements for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) over the years. She said that after her meeting with Mr Lu in Beijing in August last year, the two parties immediately established a High-Level Liaison Mechanism to discuss regularly the operational arrangements and financial matters in relation to the Hong Kong Section of the XRL. In the past year, five High-Level Liaison Mechanism meetings have been held and the sixth meeting will be held tomorrow (August 16). The two parties also signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Arrangements for Preparation of Key Operational Issues for the Hong Kong Section of the XRL in January this year, marking the reaching of consensus in principle on financial and operational matters.
 
     Mrs Lam particularly thanked CR for including Guilin and Kunming, which are popular travel places for Hong Kong people, as destinations for direct long-haul services, as well as improving train frequency, adjusting the train pairs flexibly according to passenger flow, lowering significantly the service fees for selling Mainland journey tickets at counters at West Kowloon Station, and supporting the study on enhancing the Mainland ticketing system to allow Hong Kong people to purchase Mainland journey tickets directly online free of service fees in the future. She invited Mr Lu to visit Hong Kong to attend the commencement ceremony of the Hong Kong Section of the XRL in late September to witness the commissioning of the new cross-boundary infrastructure of Hong Kong.
 
      Mrs Lam will return to Hong Kong tomorrow morning (August 16).

        

     The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (August 15) convened an inter-departmental meeting to listen to the latest reports and risk assessment by the Department of Health (DH), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Hospital Authority (HA) in the light of the four local dengue fever cases.
 
     At the meeting, the DH and the HA reported that they had formulated related contingency measures and guidelines in response to the local situation to tackle the risk of dengue fever. The DH issued letters to doctors and hospitals today to appeal to them to stay alert to suspected cases. In collaboration with public and private hospitals as well as private doctors, the DH will enhance surveillance, early referral and prompt control to prevent further spread of the disease. The DH also issued letters to all schools, kindergartens and institutions to urge them to take heed of environmental hygiene and prevent mosquito infestation.

     According to HA’s risk assessment of the current situation, public hospitals have to maintain high vigilance and get prepared for the contingency response for Dengue Fever. These include the activation of the “e-Dengue” enhanced surveillance system tomorrow to promptly identify patient cases and report for early diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, mosquito control measures have also been stepped up in public hospitals and clinics as well as their construction sites to eliminate mosquito breeding site.

     “The Government is very concerned about the four local dengue fever cases confirmed yesterday. To tackle the potential risk of dengue fever outbreak in Hong Kong, we will not take the risk lightly and take every measure to enhance the mosquito control work,” Professor Chan said.
 
     “Mosquito prevention work requires the concerted efforts of all sectors of the community. Sustained efforts of the public to keep the environment clean are crucial for effective mosquito control work. Members of the public should remain vigilant against mosquito-borne diseases so as to prevent the spread of dengue fever in Hong Kong. I appeal to all sectors in the community to work together with the Government to keep up effective measures against mosquito breeding.”

     In view of the ongoing investigation of the four local cases of dengue fever announced by the DH yesterday, the FEHD immediately stepped up targeted mosquito prevention and control work at the relevant districts in accordance with the established mechanism. Today, the FEHD deployed staff to carry out inspections as well as prevention and control work including conducting fogging operations to reduce the number of adult mosquitos, applying larvicides, clearing stagnant water and disused articles and conducting grass cutting to eliminate potential mosquito breeding grounds in areas within a 500-metre radius of the residences of the patients and the places visited by them during the incubation period (including Highland Park and Kwai Shing West Estate in Kwai Tsing District, Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground in Lam Tin, Tsui Chuk Garden and Lion Rock Park in Wong Tai Sin and the vicinity of Hillside Road in Cheung Chau). The FEHD also collected samples of Aedes albopictus for virus testing with a view to identifying the infection source of the dengue fever cases.

     Moreover, the relevant government departments will also strengthen mosquito prevention and control work and take effective anti-mosquito measures in construction sites, schools and private housing estates under their management.

     The FEHD and the DH’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) have conducted health talks for local residents. The FEHD and the relevant government departments will continue to enhance public education and publicity to remind the public to stay vigilant against the potential risk of mosquito-borne diseases including dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and Zika Virus Infection as well as continue to adopt mosquito prevention and control work at home to thoroughly eliminate potential mosquito breeding grounds.
 
     The Food and Health Bureau also informed the relevant bureaux and departments of the four local cases of dengue fever through the government’s inter-departmental Pest Control Steering Committee so that various departments could strengthen mosquito control work and take corresponding measures immediately.
 
     As Aedes albopictus breeds in small water bodies, the Government reminded members of the public to strengthen mosquito prevention and control measures at home by inspecting their homes and surroundings to remove potential breeding grounds, scrubbing vases and pot plant saucers at least once a week, properly disposing of containers such as soft drink cans and lunch boxes, and drilling large holes in unused tyres. The public are also advised to keep drains free of blockage and fill up all depressions to prevent puddles from forming. They should also scrub all drains and surface sewers with an alkaline detergent compound at least once a week to remove any mosquito eggs.
 
     Members of the public should call 1823 in cases 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.

  

     Police today (August 15) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Sham Shui Po.                Tso Yik-hang, aged 34, went missi… read more

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements to facilitate a public event to be held on Hong Kong Island this Friday (August 17).      The following roads will be intermittently closed fro… read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (August 15) continuing the epidemiological investigations into the four local cases of dengue fever (DF) announced yesterday (August 14) and will enhance surveillance against suspected cases.
 
     The latest information revealed that apart from the 76-year-old female patient living in Wong Tai Sin who had visited Lion Rock Park, the 17-year-old male patient living in Kwai Tsing District also visited the baseball field there. Meanwhile, further laboratory investigation revealed that except for the 84-year-old female patient living in Cheung Chau, the genetic sequences of the virus from the other three cases are identical. Further investigation on the source of infection of the cases is under way.
 
     The CHP representatives attended an ad hoc meeting of the Hospital Authority (HA)’s Central Committee on Infectious Disease and Emergency Responses this morning to review the four local cases of DF and the latest situation of DF. To enhance surveillance, the CHP will collaborate with the HA to activate the e-Dengue electronic reporting platform as soon as possible to facilitate real-time monitoring of suspected DF cases.
 
     The CHP has issued letters to local doctors and hospitals to alert them to the latest situation of local DF and remind them to enhance surveillance. The CHP has also issued letters to schools and institutions to remind them to step up mosquito control and prevention measures. Separately, the CHP has also written to the Travel Industry Council to urge them to remind travellers to adopt proper personal protective measures during travel and take heed of proper measures after returning from endemic or epidemic areas.
 
     The CHP has also provided information and details of geographical distribution on the local DF cases concerned on the CHP’s designated webpage for DF to facilitate handy access of information for the public.
 
     In addition, CHP officers have conducted questionnaire surveys for the four cases concerned. As of 5pm today, 112 questionnaires involving 427 persons had been collected. Among them, none reported DF symptoms. No abnormalities have been detected so far. The CHP’s medical surveillance is under way.
 
     The CHP and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department held health talks on DF in the afternoon today at Kwai Shing Community Hall, Cheung Chau Municipal Services Building and Chuk Yuen Estate Community Centre in Wong Tai Sin to deliver health advice. A total of 47 persons attended the talks. Separately, 23 persons attended the health talk conducted at the property management office of Highland Park yesterday.
 
     Persons who have been to the vicinity of Wong Tai Sin, Kwai Shing West Estate, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Hill Side Road, Highland Park and Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground with DF symptoms should call the CHP’s hotline (2125 1122) for laboratory investigation or referral as appropriate. The hotline operated from 6pm to 9pm yesterday and will operate from 9am to 5.45pm from today. As of 5pm today, eight enquiries had been received.
 
     The public should call 1823 in cases 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. read more