The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesman for Kwong Wah Hospital made the following announcement today (January 15):

     Four paediatric patients (three females and one male, aged nine months to two years old) and three staff members of a paediatrics and adolescent ward have been presented with fever or respiratory symptoms since January 4. Appropriate viral tests had been arranged for the patients and their test results were positive for Enterovirus/Rhinovirus or Parainfluenza Virus Type 3. The test results of two of the paediatric patients were positive for Enterovirus/Rhinovirus and Parainfluenza Virus Type 3. One paediatric patient has been discharged, and the remaining three paediatric patients are being treated under isolation with stable condition. The three staff members had recovered.

     Enhanced infection control measures have already been adopted in the ward concerned according to prevailing guidelines. Droplet and contact precautions, hand hygiene, cleansing and disinfection for environment and equipment have also been strengthened.

     The hospital will continue to closely monitor the situation in the ward concerned. The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for follow-up.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     To dovetail with the Government's COVID-19 vaccination programme and considering the public's demand situation, the Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (January 15) the provision of more vaccination options at general out-patient clinics (GOPCs) for the convenience of the members of public in receiving vaccination.

     "In response to the public's demand for different vaccines, 11 selected GOPCs originally scheduled to provide Sinovac vaccination services will change to provide BioNTech vaccine (see Annex 1). The Tai O Jockey Club General Out-patient Clinic will also be added to provide Sinovac vaccination services," the HA spokesman said.

     "As it takes time for manpower deployment in the provision of BioNTech vaccination services and adjustment to some clinic services, the vaccination service of BioNTech will commence on January 25 with online booking available from January 22, while the vaccination service of Sinovac at the Tai O Jockey Club General Out-patient Clinic will commence on January 27 with online booking available from January 18."

     The 11 additional GOPCs providing Sinovac vaccination services will provide services as scheduled on January 21, while online booking will be available for the public from January 18. Together with the two GOPCs currently providing the service and the Tai O Jockey Club General Out-patient Clinic, a total of 14 selected GOPCs will provide Sinovac vaccination services (See Annex 2).

     Members of the public who wish to be vaccinated against COVID-19 can make appointments through the Government's 24-hour online booking system booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/ and visit the government website www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/index.html for the latest COVID-19 vaccination information.

     The Transport Department (TD) said today (January 15) that to align with the Government's announcement of the series of tightened social distancing measures to curb the spread of Omicron in the community, and to cope with the drop in patronage, the TD approved Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB), New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB), Citybus Limited (Citybus) on January 6 to adjust the frequencies of a total of 341 routes after 8pm from January 7 to 20. The three bus companies have reviewed their latest operational and service arrangements, submitted applications to the TD again for temporary service adjustments of some bus routes to better utilise resources.

     The TD has examined the applications taking into account factors such as the extent of patronage drop of the routes concerned, occupancy, the impact of the proposed service adjustment on the passenger waiting time, efficient use of bus resources deployment and public acceptability to the proposed frequency adjustments, and has further approved 134 bus routes out of the abovementioned routes for frequencies adjustments during non-peak hours before 8pm from January 17 to 20. Among the routes approved for frequency adjustment, in general the headway will be lengthened by no more than five minutes while the extended headway will not exceed 30 minutes. In addition, six individual all-night bus service with low patronage with alternative services available have been approved to be suspended, or having extended headway to not more than 60 minutes. The TD has requested the bus companies to closely monitor the change in passenger demand and consider strengthening services whenever necessary, and to allow more space for passengers if resources permit.

     The TD will continue to closely monitor the operational situation, keep close communication with the bus companies and consider the actual circumstances to review the service adjustments and adjust the services according to passenger demand.

     In addition, the frequencies of individual bus routes mainly serving tourists, heading to land boundary control points and the airport have already been adjusted to limited service or have suspended the service due to the anti-pandemic measures on boundary control implemented earlier.

     The Information Services Department (ISD) launched today (January 15) the revamped Online Government Bookstore (www.bookstore.gov.hk) to provide a simpler, faster and user-friendly shopping experience for the public to browse and purchase government publications.

     Enhanced features of the revamped online bookstore include:

• New look with better layout for easier browsing;
• Streamlined ordering process and tracking;
• Enhanced search functions with more accurate results;
• Display of more publication details and photos; and
• Mobile-friendly user interface design.

     Customers can simply register a user account with their email address to purchase Government publications online. Upon registration, users can place order, check its status and order history. They can also save the recipient's address in their account and retrieve the record for use in the next purchase, which is time-saving and convenient.

     The Online Government Bookstore provides publications on a wide range of subjects, including the Laws of Hong Kong, Government Gazette, codes of practice, statistical and other reports, and curriculum guides.

     Members of public who wish to purchase government publications through other means may call ISD's Publications Sales Unit at 2537 1910 for further information.

     â€‹With regard to Internet rumours that Customs officers were trying to incriminate an ethnic minority young man by fabricated evidence yesterday (January 14), a spokesman for Hong Kong Customs today (January 15) solemnly clarified that the rumours are unfounded.

     Customs yesterday conducted an operation in Kwai Chung to combat the sale of counterfeit goods and found five suspected counterfeit handbags, with an estimated market value of about $2,000, inside a parcel at a logistics company. Customs officers immediately conducted a surveillance operation on the delivery and arrested a 34-year-old male consignee under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. Eighty-nine items of suspected counterfeit goods with an estimated market value of about $40,000, including handbags, wallets and watches, were further seized on the scene.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Customs stresses that all operations are conducted with fairness, impartiality and professionalism based on facts and evidence. The department denounces any such irresponsible remarks regarding the allegation of so-called "planting of evidence" by Customs posted on social media platform.