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.

     â€‹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 measures to combat illicit food transaction activities perpetrated by persons in custody of the institution kitchen prior to Lunar New Year with a number of persons in custody disciplined. While intelligence revealed that the series of crackdown had successfully intercepted the plot for supplying illicit food from the kitchen, some persons in custody, who were thereby unable to acquire the illicit food today, were aggrieved and had started a fight with another group of persons in custody who broke the promise of supplying the illicit food inside a dining hall at 9am today. A total of ten male persons in custody aged between 26 and 56 from both parties were involved in the fight. Correctional officers immediately stopped the fight and summoned reinforcement. As the fight persisted upon the arrival of reinforcing staff and repeated warnings given were to no avail, OC foam was used to subdue the persons in custody concerned. During the incident, a correctional officer and a person in custody sustained injury to their hand and eye respectively. After examination and treatment by the Medical Officer of the institution, they did not need to be referred to outside hospital. The remaining persons in custody did not sustain any injury. The ten persons in custody involved have been segregated for investigation. 

     In view of the triad affiliation of the persons in custody involved and in order to forestall any undue influence towards other areas of the institution, the CSD had deployed the Regional Response Team, staff of the Security Section and Dog Unit to Stanley Prison to support the management to crack down on illicit activities by the persons in custody and at the locations concerned. The operation is still underway.  

     The CSD is committed to ensuring a safe and secure custodial environment, and will spare no efforts and take every measure to combat any form of illicit activities to ensure the stability of the institution.

     Stanley Prison is a maximum security institution for the detention of male adult convicted and remand persons in custody.

     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."

          

     In view of the cold weather, the Home Affairs Department has opened 18 temporary shelters today (February 1) for people in need of the service.
  
     The temporary shelters will remain open during the daytime tomorrow (February 2) when the Cold Weather Warning is still in force.
 
     To ensure that cold shelter users can rest in a quiet and undisturbed environment, members of the public or agencies wishing to make donations to shelter users are requested to register with the staff of the shelter first. Donors will then be directed to place the donated items at a specified indoor location. The staff will help notify the shelter users to collect the items on their own.
 
     Anyone seeking temporary refuge or with any questions about the donation arrangements at the cold shelters may call the department's hotline 2572 8427 for more information.
 
     In light of the implementation of mandatory use of the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application when entering government premises, all persons are required to use the app to scan the venue QR code before they are allowed to enter temporary cold shelters, except for exempted persons (including persons who are aged below 12 or aged 65 or above, persons with disabilities that render use of the app difficult and persons without smartphones). All exempted persons are required to complete a prescribed form to register their personal particulars, contact phone number and the date and time of entry. The staff will verify the information provided.
 
     The 18 temporary cold shelters are located at:
 
Hong Kong Island:
——————–
 
Central and Western:
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex, 2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun
 
Eastern:
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay
 
Southern:
Wah Kwai Community Centre
Wah Kwai Estate, Kellett Bay
 
Wan Chai:
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai
 
Kowloon:
——————
 
Kowloon City:
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices, 42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom
 
Kwun Tong:
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin
 
Sham Shui Po:
Nam Cheong District Community Centre
1 Cheong San Lane, Sham Shui Po
 
Wong Tai Sin:
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan
 
Yau Tsim Mong:
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories:
—————-
 
Islands:
Tung Chung Community Hall  
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building, 39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung
 
Kwai Tsing:
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung

North:
North District Community Centre
2 Lung Wan Street, Sheung Shui
 
Sai Kung:
Chi Shin Activity Centre
G/F, Tseung Kwan O South Ancillary Facilities Block
5 Chi Shin Street, Tseung Kwan O
 
Sha Tin:
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin
 
Tai Po:
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan:
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan
 
Tuen Mun:
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun
 
Yuen Long:
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long

     The Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene has ordered a siu mei and lo mei shop in Mong Kok to suspend business for 14 days as the operator repeatedly breached the Food Business Regulation (FBR) by cleansing or storing equipment or utensils in open space.

     The shop, located on the ground floor of 1037 Canton Road, Mong Kok, was ordered to suspend business from today (February 1) to February 14.

     "In last September and November, two convictions for the above-mentioned breach were recorded against the shop. A total fine of $4,100 was levied by the court and 15 demerit points were registered against the licensee under the department's demerit points system. The contraventions resulted in the 14-day licence suspension," a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said.

     The licensee of the shop had a record of two convictions for the same offence last March and July. A total fine of $4,500 was levied and 15 demerit points were also registered. The breaches led to a licence suspension for seven days last September.

     The spokesman reminded the licensees of food premises to comply with the FBR, or their licences could be suspended or cancelled.

     Licensed food premises are required to exhibit a sign, at a conspicuous place near the main entrance, indicating that the premises have been licensed. A list of licensed food premises is available on the FEHD's website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/index.html).