The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority today (July 25) announced information regarding patients who tested positive via admission screening or testing with patients or staff members identified as close contacts and nosocomial COVID-19 infection cases.

     The following are the statistics of patients who tested positive via admission screening or by testing in public hospitals with patients or staff members identified as close contacts:
 

     The following is the statistic of clusters of nosocomial infection cases in public hospitals:
 

     In addition, a 75 year-old male patient in a surgical ward of Shatin Hospital tested positive for COVID-19 on July 23. Three male patients (aged 69 to 83) and four staff members in the same ward subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday (July 24). The hospital is investigating the linkage among the cases concerned. Four patients have been transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital for isolation treatment and are in stable condition. Four staff members are also in stable condition. Patients and staff members of the ward concerned have been arranged for testing.

     Admission and visiting arrangements for the aforementioned ward have been suspended. Thorough cleaning and disinfection have been conducted. The hospital will continue to monitor the health condition of patients and staff members closely, and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.

 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.

    

     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.

     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.

     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.