The Government yesterday (January 11) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a "restriction-testing declaration" ef… read more
In view of suspected silent transmission chains in Tuen Mun district, the Government urges residents and those working in Tuen Mun who are exposed to infection risks to undergo testing as soon as possible. The Government has already… read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (January 11) reminded members of the public that a “restriction-testing declaration” (RTD) has been made for the residence of one of the cases tested preliminarily positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus the CHP is following. The CHP strongly reminds relevant residents that they must comply with the RTD operation. Any person who fails to present an SMS notification with a test result or wear a wristband as proof of having undergone testing breaches the compulsory testing notice and may be liable to a fine of $5,000. The person will also be issued with a compulsory testing order, requiring him/her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the compulsory testing order or the RTD is an offence and the offender may be liable to a fine of level 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months.
The case involves a 51-year-old female patient living in Block 3, Po Tin Estate, Tuen Mun. She works as a security guard at the Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre. According to her job nature, she has to undergo frequent regular COVID-19 testing and she last tested negative on January 8. She developed fever on January 10 and tested preliminarily positive on the same day with a Ct value of 25/26. She received two doses of COVID-19 vaccination (CoronVac) in Hong Kong on March 11 and April 8, 2021.
The CHP is now investigating the places where the patient visited during incubation period and will carry out whole genome sequencing analysis in order to ascertain the infection source and to terminate the silent transmission chains in the community. The CHP also urges all individuals who are in doubt about their own health condition, or individuals with exposure to infection risk, to undergo testing promptly for early identification of infected persons.
The Government has made a “restriction-testing declaration” tonight for the building where the patient resided (Block 3, Po Tin Estate, 99 Ming Kum Road, Tuen Mun) and persons who resided or worked at the building will be subject to increased compulsory testing frequency. The places where she had visited during the incubation period will also be included in a compulsory testing notice. Specified persons who were present at the relevant venues at specified periods need to undergo compulsory testing on the specified date.
The spokesman for the CHP said, “The Government has remained vigilant and has been closely monitoring the latest scientific data on mutant strains as well as the epidemic situation of various places. The most stringent anti-epidemic measures will be implemented to prevent the mutant strains from spreading in the local community.”
​At the moment, the adverse impact on the epidemic situation caused by the newly emerged mutant strains is not fully known yet, but vaccination is still essential to prevent severe cases and deaths from COVID-19 infection. The Government has launched the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. Members of the public are encouraged to get vaccinated. Details of the programme can be found at the designated website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk). read more
The Government today (January 11) 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 7.30pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Tuen Mun (i.e. Block 3, Po Tin Estate, 99 Ming Kum Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong. 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 12).
A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. As a preliminary tested positive case who has lived in the abovementioned building detected today may involve 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 has set up temporary specimen collection stations at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 1am tomorrow. Arrangements have been 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 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 December 29, 2021 to January 11, 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 13, 2022. As a mutant strain may be 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 preliminary tested positive case carrying variants 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 Housing Department has set up a hotline (Tel: 2462 2430) which will start operation at 7.30 pm 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
In light of the latest situation of the COVID-19 epidemic as well as the related arrangements for kindergartens, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) announced today (January 11) that all child care centres and special child care centres are required to implement special service arrangements on or before Friday (January 14) until the Chinese New Year holidays.
To minimise the chance of infection, the SWD advises members of the public not to take their children to child care centres or special child care centres during the period. However, these centres will remain open to serve service users who have difficulty in taking care of their children. Service users in need may contact the centres or service units concerned in advance.
In addition, operators of pre-school rehabilitation services (including special child care centres) may arrange appropriate modes of individual training, such as centre-based training, e-learning and home training, for service users having regard to the epidemic situation, service users’ circumstances and their parents’ preference during the period.
For enquiries, please call the SWD hotline on 2343 2255. read more