Following is the opening remarks by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, at a media session today (July 14) on the land sale programme for July to September 2022:
      
     Today I will introduce the Government's Land Sale Programme in the second quarter of this financial year, which is July to September.
      
     As this is the first land sale announcement after the close of the last financial year, I also wish to take this opportunity to first give an update on the actual outturn of private housing land supply in the last financial year. Taking into account the private development projects that do not require lease modifications recorded in the last quarter, as well as the tender cancellation of a residential site in Tuen Mun, the actual land supply for the last financial year is adjusted to around 18 930 flats, exceeding our supply target of 12 900 flats for the last financial year by close to 50 per cent.

     As regards the Land Sale Programme for the first quarter of this financial year, we announced in February the sale of two residential sites. Amongst the two, the site on Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, was successfully sold in late June, our first site sold with the minimum flat size requirement. The tender for the other site along Hospital Road is now in progress.
      
     I will now announce the Land Sale Programme for the second quarter of this financial year. Three residential sites will be put up for tender, including one in Sha Tin, one in Kwai Chung and the re-tender of a site in Tuen Mun I mentioned earlier. Together, they could provide around 2 600 flats.
      
     Apart from Government land sale, the Urban Renewal Authority plans to put up for tender a development project in To Kwa Wan, capable of providing about 560 flats.
      
     In addition, three private development projects are expected to complete their lease modifications within this quarter, providing a supply of about 50 flats. 
      
     To round up, taking all sources of private housing land supply into account, the total supply in the second quarter of this financial year would be around 3 210 flats.
      
     Together with the supply of around 2 140 flats from the first quarter, the total supply in the first half of this financial year will support a yield of some 5 350 flats, reaching 40 per cent of our annual target for private housing supply. This estimate has not yet reflected private development projects which do not require lease modifications, as such figures are only available at a later stage.
      
     As regards commercial land, we plan to put up for tender a commercial site on Anderson Road, Kwun Tong. This site is capable of providing around 13 000 square metres of gross floor area. It is located at the centre of the Anderson Road Quarry housing development and is expected to be used for commercial facilities such as retail and dining, serving the needs of residents in the area.
                  
     As for the remaining sites on our Land Sale Programme, some of them are still undergoing rezoning or road gazette procedures, land clearance, etc. We will press ahead with the preparatory work with a view to getting ready the potential land sale sites in the year.
      
     Looking ahead, the Government will continue to increase land supply through a multi-pronged approach, sparing no effort in taking forward a series of site production projects, including new development areas, reclamation, rezoning of individual sites, etc. We will also continue to look for more land resources, as well as compress our development procedures through administrative and legislative means, in order to expedite our site search and production to meet the needs of our community.
      
     Thank you.   

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) made the following appeal today (July 14) regarding a patient leaving the hospital without prior notification:

     A 22-year-old male patient had been admitted to the medical ward of KWH for treatment on Tuesday (July 12). At around 1.30am today, ward staff found that the patient had left the ward without prior notification. 

     KWH deployed a security guard to search for the patient immediately, and has reported the case to the Police for assistance. The hospital is very concerned about the incident and will fully co-operate with the Police to locate the patient.

     The patient is about 1.75 metres tall. He is of Chinese nationality with a medium build and short hair. He was wearing patient clothes without personal belongings when leaving the ward.

     The hospital appeals to the public to contact the Yau Ma Tei Police Station at 3661 1652 if they know the whereabouts of the patient.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 14) announced that a lobster sample was detected with cadmium, a metallic contaminant, at a level exceeding the legal limit. The CFS is following up on the incident.
 
     "The CFS collected the above-mentioned lobster sample at the import level for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained cadmium at a level of 3.17 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the legal limit of 2 ppm," a CFS spokesman said.
 
     "Long-term excessive intake of cadmium may affect the kidney functions. The CFS has informed the importer concerned of the irregularity and is tracing the source of the affected product. Preliminary investigation revealed that the affected product has not entered the market," the spokesman added.
 
     According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limit is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.
 
     The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

     â€‹In light of positive test results for the COVID-19 virus from sewage samples collected in Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and Sham Shui Po Districts, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) said today (July 14) that the Tsuen Wan District Office (TWDO), the Kwai Tsing District Office (K&TDO) and the Sham Shui Po District Office (SSPDO) have distributed a total of about 140 000 COVID-19 rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in the Districts.

     The TWDO distributed rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Bellagio, Rhine Garden, Ocean Pointe and Rhine Terrace for voluntary testing through the property management companies. The TWDO also distributed rapid test kits to households living in Sham Tseng Village for voluntary testing through the Village Representative. 

     The K&TDO also commenced distributing rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Shui King Building, Kam Shek Building, Kam Luk Building and Kwong Fai Building for voluntary testing through the property management companies and the owners' corporations.

     In addition, the SSPDO distributed rapid test kits to households, cleansing workers and property management staff living and working in Parc Oasis, Tai Hang Sai Estate, Village Gardens, Grandeur Villa, Begonia Court, Rose Court and Lei Cheng Uk Estate for voluntary testing through the property management companies and the owners' corporations.

     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 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 14) that Shenzhen operated 43 cargo vessel trips and transported around 3 530 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (July 13), equivalent to about 11 390 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 665 200 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 3 240 060 tonnes of goods, of which around 2 100 TEUs (about 17 880 tonnes) were fresh food and around 663 100 TEUs (about 3 222 180 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 4 062 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday, among which 11 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.