Author Archives: hksar gov

      The Government today (January 21) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” (declaration) effective from 7pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Sham Shui Po (i.e. 35-37 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui 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 7am tomorrow (January 22).
      
     A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. As a case tested preliminarily positive who has lived in the abovementioned building was detected today, and the preliminary test result involved a mutant strain, the risk of infection in the relevant area is assessed to be likely higher, so the Government decided to make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’ for the relevant area after the test result was found to be positive.”
      
     The Government will arrange dedicated staff to collect samples through combined nasal and throat swabs at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 11pm today. 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 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 7am 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 building for more than two hours from January 10, 2022 to January 21, 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 January 23, 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.
      
     In addition, in accordance with the latest arrangement, persons who resided in the same building as the case tested preliminarily positive carrying variant of concern suspected to be Omicron are required to undergo compulsory testing on days 2, 3, 4, 7, 12 and 19 counting from the day subsequent to that when the relevant confirmed case last stayed in that building before being admitted to hospital for treatment or leaving Hong Kong.
      
     The Sham Shui Po District Office has set up a hotline (Tel: 9384 7513) which starts operation at 7pm today for residents restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance. The Social Welfare Department will also provide assistance to the affected persons.
      
     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

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs today (January 21) mounted an anti-smuggling operation in the western waters of Hong Kong and detected a suspected smuggling case involving a cargo vessel. About 60 tonnes of suspected smuggled frozen meat with an estimated market value of about $12 million were seized.

     Customs conducted an anti-smuggling operation and spotted a suspicious cargo vessel in the waters off Hong Kong International Airport during the small hours today. Several men on the cargo vessel, suspected of participating in smuggling activities, were unloading goods onto a high-powered speedboat. Customs officers immediately took action and intercepted the cargo vessel. The batch of suspected smuggled frozen meat was seized on board the vessel.

     During the operation, seven men aged between 25 and 68, suspected to be connected to the case, were arrested.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs stresses that it will keep up its enforcement action and will continue to fiercely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, along with mounting targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times to land a solid blow against relevant activities.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

    

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs seized about 3.5 kilograms of suspected heroin with an estimated market value of about $4.6 million at Hong Kong International Airport on January 12 and 13. Two persons suspected to be connected to the case were arrested yesterday (January 20).

     Customs officers on the above-mentioned two days inspected two air parcels, declared as carrying cosmetics and lanterns respectively, that arrived from Malaysia at the airport. Two model car display racks concealing suspected heroin were found inside each of the parcels.

     After follow-up investigation, a 16-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man were arrested in Kwun Tong yesterday.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Customs appeals to parents to keep an eye on their children’s friends to prevent children from taking part in drug trafficking activities under peer influence.

     Customs also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary returns. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items in and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people, nor to release their personal data or home address to others for receiving parcels or goods.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Government announced today (January 21) that in view of the latest developments of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has decided to cancel the 2022 Che Kung Festival (CKF) Fair originally scheduled from January 29 to February 15 at Chui Tin Street Soccer Pitch in Sha Tin.

     A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said, “The Government has earlier announced the cancellation of Lunar New Year fairs at 15 locations, and Fong Ma Po New Year Fair at Lam Tsuen in Tai Po this year. Taking into consideration that a large number of people may gather at the CKF Fair while there are still silent transmission chains in the community and the risk of cluster outbreaks, the Government has decided to cancel this year’s CKF Fair so as to protect the health of stall owners and the public on site, and reduce the risk of spreading the disease,” he added.

     The FEHD will inform the successful stall bidders of the decision in writing. Apart from arranging a full refund of the stall licence fee to them in accordance with the licence agreement as soon as possible, the FEHD will also grant the licensees concerned an ex-gratia payment pitched at 50 per cent of the stall licence fee under the fifth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund. read more

     In view of the multiple COVID-19 confirmed cases detected at Yat Kwai House in Kwai Chung Estate, the Home Affairs Department and the Kwai Tsing District Office (K&TDO) distributed COVID-19 rapid test kits to 3 460 households in the four buildings near Yat Kwai House (i.e. Nga Kwai House, Yuk Kwai House, Ying Kwai House and Hiu Kwai House) through their letter boxes this morning (January 21) for the residents to take the test by themselves, in the hope of identifying infected persons early, so as to better protect infected persons and their families. However, the K&TDO stressed that rapid test kit testing is not a substitute for the Government’s compulsory testing requirement.

     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 fight 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.