Author Archives: hksar gov

 ã€€ã€€  The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) today (July 25) held a session on the “Spirit of the President’s Important Speech” at the Environmental Academy. The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, attended as keynote speaker, so as to enable the colleagues to obtain a deeper understanding of the spirit of the important speech of President Xi Jinping delivered at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and to provide crucial guidance on the work of the Bureau and all colleagues in the future.
 
　　  In his important speech, President Xi raised “four musts” for the new administration, of which: we must fully and faithfully implement the principle of “one country, two systems”; we must uphold the Central Government’s overall jurisdiction while securing the HKSAR’s high degree of autonomy; we must ensure that Hong Kong is administered by patriots; and we must maintain Hong Kong’s distinctive status and advantages. President Xi also laid down “four proposals” for the newly inaugurated Government, i.e. further improving its governance, continuing to create strong impetus for growth, earnestly addressing people’s livelihood concerns and difficulties, and working together to safeguard harmony and stability.
 
　　  Addressing the session, Mr Tse said that, “President Xi’s speech provides crucial and practical guidance on good governance by the HKSAR Government, and his “four proposals” are also the EEB’s work objectives. The newly formed EEB’s areas of responsibilities cover policies and work on environmental protection, natural and ecological conservation, environmental hygiene, food safety, agriculture and fisheries, and animal welfare; which serves as an opportunity to integrate and manage the city’s hygiene, livelihood and natural environment in one go. We shall take this chance to review our work to strengthen our ability to execute, simplify workflow, and formulate policies and action plans, so as to enhance our efficiency from all perspectives. We strive to do work pragmatically with a result-oriented approach, and to be responsive to the people’s needs.”
 
       Mr Tse encouraged colleagues to formulate and implement policies through a people-based approach, adopt a pragmatic and fearless attitude to practically heed the people’s concerns, and make concerted efforts to develop a more thorough comfortable and healthy living environment for the people of Hong Kong.
 
       Around 70 senior staff from the EEB and its departments, including the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Environmental Protection Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Hong Kong Observatory and the Government Laboratory, attended the first session held today. Mr Tse will continue to host another three sessions for all senior staff. The departments will also hold several sessions to ensure all colleagues can accurately grasp the core essence and spirit of President Xi’s important speech.

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     The Task Force on Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong.
 
     A spokesperson for the TLB said that the “Sea Express” water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials. The current supply of fresh food from the Mainland is stable.
 
     The spokesperson said today (July 25) that Shenzhen operated 139 cargo vessel trips and transported around 12 290 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water for the period from July 22 to yesterday (July 24), equivalent to about 53 820 tonnes of goods, of which around 10 TEUs (about 50 tonnes) were fresh food and around 12 280 TEUs (about 53 770 tonnes) were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
 
     Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 712 620 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 3 472 330 tonnes of goods, of which around 2 140 TEUs (about 18 370 tonnes) were fresh food and around 710 480 TEUs (about 3 453 960 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
 
     Meanwhile, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department (TD) arranges for dedicated staff to conduct rapid nucleic acid tests, using nasopharyngeal swabs for specimen collection, for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. A total of 9 088 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted for the period from July 22 to yesterday, among which eight cases that tested preliminarily positive or indeterminate were found. The TD has passed the cases to the Department of Health for follow-up.
 
     The TLB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure both smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, while reducing the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong. read more

     Shun Lee Engineering Limited was fined $115,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts today (July 25) for violation of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department.
 
     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on December 2, 2021, at an upper unit under renovation of a building in Hung Hom, Kowloon. While dismantling a truss-out scaffold at the external wall of the unit, a scaffolder plunged to the bottom of the yard on the ground floor of the building and died. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (July 25) reported the latest number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease (LD), and stressed the importance of using and maintaining properly designed man-made water systems, adding that susceptible groups should strictly observe relevant precautions.
 
     From July 17 to 23, two community-acquired LD cases were reported:
 

1. A female patient, aged 87 with underlying illnesses, who lives in Lung Yiu House, Kam Lung Court, Ma On Shan; and
2. A male patient, aged 68 with underlying illnesses, who lives in Shui Yip House, Tin Shui Estate, Tin Shui Wai.

 
     “Epidemiological investigations are ongoing to identify potential sources of infection, high-risk exposure and clusters, if any,” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     As of July 23, 40 LD cases had been reported this year. In 2021 and 2020, there were 69 and 104 cases respectively.

     “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 that support breathing. People may become 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 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.

     â€‹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 Government today (July 25) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” effective from 5pm under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Wong Tai Sin ( i.e. Ching Yi House, Tsz Ching Estate, Wong Tai Sin, excluding non-domestic units on ground floor of Ching Yi House, see Annex) are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. Persons subject to compulsory testing are required to stay in their premises until all such persons identified in the “restricted area” have undergone testing and the test results are mostly ascertained. The Government aims at finishing this exercise at around 10am tomorrow (July 26). The operation may be extended depending on test results.
 
     A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. Having reviewed a basket of factors, including the viral load in sewage, the information of relevant positive cases, and other circumstantial factors, and conducted a risk assessment, the Government decided to make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’ for the relevant area.”
 
     The Government will set up temporary specimen collection stations at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 11pm today. Arrangements will be made for persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo a nucleic acid test at specimen collection stations where dedicated staff will collect samples through combined nasal and throat swabs. Persons subject to compulsory testing must stay at their place of residence until all test results are ascertained to avoid cross-infection risk. The Government will make arrangement to facilitate specimen collection for people with impaired mobility. All persons in the “restricted area” who have tested positive in the past 14 days, including positive cases identified either by nucleic acid tests recorded by the Department of Health (DH) or by rapid antigen tests that have been self-declared to the DH, are not required to undergo testing in this compulsory testing exercise.
 
     The Government spokesman said, “We understand that this exercise will cause inconvenience to the public. The Government has made arrangements to carry out testing for all persons present in the ‘restricted area’ as soon as possible. The aim is to strive to complete testing of all identified persons subject to compulsory testing and confirm the results, and finish the exercise at around 10am tomorrow. The Government will make a public announcement when the declaration expires officially. In the cases in which employees are unable to go to work because of the declaration, the Government hopes their employers can exercise discretion and not deduct the salaries or benefits of the employees.”
 
     If staying in the “restricted area” will cause unreasonable hardship to individuals who are not residents in the area when the declaration takes effect, government officers may exercise discretion and allow that person to leave the area after considering the individual circumstances. That person must have followed the instructions to undergo testing and leave his/her personal information for contact purposes.
 
     According to the compulsory testing notice to be issued today, any persons other than those specified above who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from July 19 to July 25, 2022, even if they were not present in the “restricted area” at the time when the declaration took effect, must undergo compulsory testing on or before July 27, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, for prudence’s sake, vaccinated persons and persons who have recently been tested are also required to undergo testing.
 
     The Housing Department has set up a hotline (Tel: 2325 0104) which started operation at 5pm today for residents restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance. The Social Welfare Department will also provide assistance to the affected persons.
 
     The Government appeals to persons subject to compulsory testing for their full co-operation by registering and undergoing testing, and waiting for the results patiently at home. The Government will strictly follow up on whether the persons concerned have complied with the compulsory testing notices and “restriction-testing declaration”. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notices commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $10,000. The person would also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the compulsory testing order or the “restriction-testing declaration” is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more