The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: ​The spokesperson for Yan Chai Hospital (YCH) made the following announcement today (February 1) regarding an executive assistant who tested positive for CO… read more
The Government today (February 1) 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 6pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Tai Po (i.e. Serenity Villa, Tai Po Tau, Tai Po. 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 about 9am tomorrow (February 2).
A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. As the sewage discharged from the above building was tested positive for COVID-19, it is suspected that there are asymptomatic patients in the building. Given the risk of infection in the relevant area is assessed to be likely higher, 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 arrange for door-to-door specimen collection for people with impaired mobility and elderly persons.
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 person who had been present at the above buildings for more than two hours from January 19 to February 1, 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 February 3, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, and having considered relevant infection risks, 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 $5,000. 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 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more
The Government today (February 1) 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 6pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Tai Po (i.e. Serenity Villa, Tai Po Tau, Tai Po. 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 about 9am tomorrow (February 2).
A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. As the sewage discharged from the above building was tested positive for COVID-19, it is suspected that there are asymptomatic patients in the building. Given the risk of infection in the relevant area is assessed to be likely higher, 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 arrange for door-to-door specimen collection for people with impaired mobility and elderly persons.
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 person who had been present at the above buildings for more than two hours from January 19 to February 1, 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 February 3, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, and having considered relevant infection risks, 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 $5,000. 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 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more
​The Correctional Services Department (CSD) today (Feb 1) took actions to combat illicit activities of persons in custody at Stanley Prison. The management of Stanley Prison stepped up me… read more
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (February 1), the first day of the Lunar New Year, visited colleagues on duty at the Contact Tracing Offices in Kai Tak and Mong Kok to encourage them to step up efforts in contact-tracing of COVID-19 confirmed cases in response to the current local epidemic situation. She also extended her New Year greetings to them and thanked them for their hard work during the holidays.
Accompanied by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, and the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, Mrs Lam visited the Office in Kai Tak set up by the Department of Health in January last year and the newly opened Office in Mong Kok in operation since end January this year. The Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Woo Ying-ming, and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho Pui-shan, also visited the Office in Mong Kok to cheer for colleagues and extended their New Year greetings to them.
Colleagues of the Offices briefed Mrs Lam on the wide range of work on contact-tracing of confirmed cases against the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, especially in response to those involving the Omicron variant, in a bid to cut all transmission chains in the community as soon as possible. As a case in point, the “Moon Palace” cluster had earlier been put under control quickly by putting in quarantine, by batch and in an orderly manner, all the 200-odd customers having had meals at the restaurant during the relevant period (of which 80 per cent were contacted within 24 hours), 22 staff members, and over 1 000 close contacts and their family members arising from the 16 confirmed cases in the cluster. Mrs Lam affirmed the efficiency of the Offices and encouraged colleagues to be more patient and empathetic when approaching the close contacts and arranging for their admission to quarantine centres.
The two Offices are currently staffed by more than 400 officers, who are mainly deployed from various disciplinary services with rich investigation experience. Coupled with the professional training provided by the Centre for Health Protection under the Department of Health, the officers can help strengthen the epidemiological investigation as well as the contact-tracing of confirmed cases. The Offices have assisted in tracing more than 31 000 contacts of confirmed cases thus far, with arrangements made to put the relevant people in quarantine in order to reduce the spread of the virus in the community. In the fifth wave of the epidemic, over 60 per cent of the cases epidemiologically linked with imported or local cases have been found in the quarantine centres or cordoned-off buildings under “restriction-testing declarations”. In other words, the patients have not been moving about freely in the community by the time of their test results found positive.
Furthermore, over 10 000 serving officers or retirees of the disciplinary services so far have received training, enabling the Government to deploy more manpower to assist in contact-tracing as needed having regard to the epidemic situation.
“To combat the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the Government is committed to taking swift, targeted and resolute actions to curb the fifth wave of the epidemic as soon as possible. Tracing the close contacts of every confirmed case and speedily arranging for their quarantine, and requiring the close contacts of close contacts to undergo compulsory testing or compulsory quarantine depending on the risk level, are integral parts of the Government’s race against time with the virus variant to contain the epidemic,” Mrs Lam said.
“I wholeheartedly thank members of the public for being highly co-operative, especially those required to undergo compulsory quarantine during the festive season. The contribution of each and every one of you will help Hong Kong win again in the current wave of the epidemic. I appeal to members of the public again to continue to support the Government’s anti-epidemic efforts by staying home and reducing cross-family gatherings as far as possible during the Lunar New Year, and maintaining personal hygiene, in hope of riding out of this wave early and resuming normal life gradually.”
