Author Archives: hksar gov

     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 18) that Shenzhen operated 51 cargo vessel trips and transported around 4 980 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (July 17), equivalent to about 24 310 tonnes of goods, all of which 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 684 160 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 3 347 180 tonnes of goods, of which around 2 120 TEUs (about 18 110 tonnes) were fresh food and around 682 040 TEUs (about 3 329 070 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 2 929 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted 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

     In light of positive test results for the COVID-19 virus from sewage samples collected in Wan Chai, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwai Tsing and Eastern Districts, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) said today (July 18) that the Wan Chai District Office (WCDO), the Yau Tsim Mong District Office (YTMDO), the Kwai Tsing District Office (K&TDO) and the Eastern District Office (EDO) have distributed a total of about 424 000 COVID-19 rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in the Districts.

     The WCDO distributed rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Serenade, Lai Tak Tsuen, Viking Villas, The Pavilia Hill, Dragon Court, Illumination Terrace, Wun Sha Tower, Fook Hing Court, Concord Villas, Villa d’ Arte and Dragon Centre for voluntary testing through the property management companies and the owners’ corporations.

     The YTMDO also distributed rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Man Cheong Building, Man King Building, Man Yiu Building, Man Yuen Building, Man Ying Building, Man Wah Building, Man Wai Building, Man Fai Building; and residential premises around Sycamore Street, Lai Chi Kok Road and Tong Mi Road for voluntary testing through the property management companies, the owners’ corporations and the mutual aid committees.

     The K&TDO also distributed rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Tierra Verde, Villa Esplanada, Mayfair Gardens, Rambler Crest, Tsing Yi Garden, Serene Garden and Ching Chun Court for voluntary testing through the property management companies.

     In addition, the EDO distributed rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Grand Promenade, Les Saisons, Fullview Garden and Harmony Garden for voluntary testing through the property management companies.

     The HAD made the above arrangements in the hope of identifying infected persons early.

     Members of the public may refer to the demonstration video produced by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) under the Department of Health (DH) via www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzFAUzTtmKk to learn how to use the rapid antigen test (RAT) kit.

     Persons testing positive through an RAT should take a photo of the test result and declare the result within 24 hours via the Declaration System for Individuals Tested Positive for COVID-19 Using Rapid Antigen Test (www.chp.gov.hk/ratp). If members of the public encounter difficulties in using the online platform, they can call the automated system at 183 6119 to register their identification document and telephone number. The CHP under the DH will contact the relevant person later to complete the report procedure. There is no need to declare negative test results.

     The Government appeals for the co-operation of members of the public to safeguard the health of themselves and their families by undergoing testing on a voluntary basis and fighting the virus together. The Government urges all individuals who are in doubt about their own health condition, or individuals with infection risks (such as individuals who visited places with epidemic outbreaks or had contact with cases that tested positive), to undergo testing promptly for early identification of infected persons to reduce the transmission risks of COVID-19.

        

     The Government announced today (July 18) that it has concluded discussions with the Governments of Bhutan and Marshall Islands to accept vaccination records issued by Bhutan and Marshall Islands as recognised vaccination records for persons arriving at Hong Kong who have stayed in overseas places. The relevant arrangements will take effect at 0.00am on July 20 (Wednesday).
 
     From 0.00am on July 20, persons who hold a vaccination record issued by the relevant authorities of Bhutan and Marshall Islands in the prescribed format can board a flight for Hong Kong from overseas places. The vaccines administered for the relevant travellers have to be vaccines listed on the Government’s List of COVID-19 Vaccines Recognised for Specified Purposes.
 
     The Government has implemented stringent inbound prevention and control measures for persons arriving at Hong Kong from overseas places. Persons who have stayed in any overseas place can only board a flight for Hong Kong if they are fully vaccinated and hold recognised vaccination records. Recognised vaccination records include (a) vaccination records issued by Hong Kong, (b) vaccination records or certifications issued by Mainland or Macao authorities or an institution recognised by Mainland or Macao authorities, (c) vaccination records or certifications issued by an authority or recognised institution of a country where its national regulatory authority is designated by the World Health Organization as a stringent regulatory authority, (d) vaccination records or certifications issued by a relevant authority or recognised institution of a country with which Hong Kong has reached a recognition agreement arrangement with its government, or (e) vaccination records issued by an organisation with which Hong Kong has reached a recognition agreement arrangement.
 
     The list of places or organisations that are accepted for issuing recognised vaccination records is set out in the Annex, and will be uploaded to the Government’s COVID-19 thematic website.
 
     The Government will continue to discuss with other places on the arrangements for the recognition of vaccination records, and will update the list as recognition arrangements are agreed with these places. read more

     The Government today (July 18) 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 Sha Tin (i.e. Shing Chuen House, Shui Chuen O Estate, Sha Tin, 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 9am tomorrow (July 19). 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, will not be 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 9am 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 12 to 18, 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 20, 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 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

     The Government announced today (July 18) the appointment of Mr Clement Chan Kam-wing as Chairman of the Consumer Council for a term of two years with effect from July 15, 2022.         … read more