Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible: Here is an item of interest to swimmers. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (November 18) that due to bi… read more
The Government today (November 17) announced that the testing and isolation arrangements for consular and diplomatic officers who are exempted from quarantine requirement upon arriving Hong Kong will be tightened with effect from tomorrow (November 18).
A Government spokesman pointed out that in view of the development and severity of the global epidemic situation, based on the prevention and risk assessment, the Government decided to tighten the epidemic control measures on inbound travellers comprehensively. With effect from November 18 (Wednesday), the Government will tighten the testing and isolation arrangement for consular and diplomatic officers who are exempted from quarantine arrangement upon arriving Hong Kong, particularly those who have visited very high risk places (i.e. the specified very high-risk places gazetted under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap.599H)), with details as follows:
Consular and diplomatic officers who have visited very high risk places during the 14 days prior to arrival in Hong Kong:
• They must possess a negative result of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test done at an ISO15189-accredited laboratory or a laboratory recognised by the Government where the laboratory is located with the specimen collected within 48 hours prior to boarding the flight to Hong Kong;
• They must take a post-arrival SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test at the Department of Health’s (DH) Temporary Specimen Collection Centre (TSCC) and wait for the results there or any other location as designated by DH upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA);
• Except Consul Generals or representatives in HKSAR at equivalent level, all other consular and diplomatic officers must be subject to self-isolation for 14 days at an accommodation arranged by respective organisations;
• Specimen bottles will be distributed to the consular and diplomatic officers upon arrival. They must collect and return their deep throat saliva sample at Day-12 upon their arrival in accordance with the instructions for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test again; and
• Respective organisations must arrange point-to-point transportation for the consular and diplomatic officers. The use of public transport is prohibited.
Consular and diplomatic officers who have not visited very high risk places during the 14-day prior to arrival in Hong Kong:
• If they possess a negative result of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test done at an ISO15189-accredited laboratory or a laboratory recognised by the Government where the laboratory is located with the specimen collected within 48 hours prior to boarding the flight to Hong Kong, they are required to take a post-arrival SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test at the DH’s TSCC before leaving HKIA;
• If they do not possess a negative result of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test done at an ISO15189-accredited laboratory or a laboratory recognised by the Government where the laboratory is located with the specimen collected within 48 hours prior to boarding the flight to Hong Kong, they must take a post-arrival SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test at the DH’s TSCC and wait for the results there or any other location as designated by DH upon arrival at HKIA;
• Specimen bottles will be distributed to the consular and diplomatic officers upon arrival. They must collect and return their deep throat saliva sample at Day-12 upon their arrival in accordance with the instructions for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test again; and
• Respective organisations must arrange point-to-point transportation for the consular and diplomatic officers. The use of public transport is prohibited.
　　
The spokesman said, “The exemption status and the itineraries of the consular and diplomatic officers carrying out governmental duties are determined by their official capacity and relevant official duties with a view to safeguarding normal operation of the governments. Nevertheless, we consider there is a need to tighten respective exemption arrangement to strengthen the prevention of imported cases as well as avoiding the respective exempted persons’ contact with the local community during the exemption period, so as to achieve the strategic goal to ‘Controlling the epidemic with precision’.”
The spokesman added, “The testing and quarantine arrangement imposed by the Government on incoming passengers was made on the basis of public health risk assessment and has been adjusting rapidly in response to the latest epidemic situation and experts’ views. The Government will continue to closely monitor the epidemic situation around the world, and review the quarantine and testing arrangements for all inbound travellers (including exempted persons) entering Hong Kong. read more
​A total of 114 wet goods stalls were successfully let in an auction for stalls at the 2021 Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair starting today (November 17). A spokesman for the Food and E… read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (November 17) investigating nine outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), affecting seven primary schools and two special schools. The CHP strongly appealed to members of the public and staff of institutions to stay alert and maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene as an increasing number of institutional URTI outbreaks has been recorded recently.
Taking account of the epidemic situation of COVID-19 and the trend of URTI outbreaks in schools recently, as a prudent and precautionary measure, the CHP will arrange distribution of deep throat saliva specimen bottles for schools with URTI outbreaks and provide COVID-19 testing to all staff members and students of the affected classes. Starting from tomorrow (November 18), the CHP will advise the schools to suspend face-to-face classes and activities for at least seven days until test results are available.
Details of the outbreaks are listed in the table below:
| Type of school (District) | Number of people affected and details of medical attention | Earliest onset date | Symptoms |
| Case 1: Primary school (Wan Chai) |
16 boys and five girls (aged 6 to 10); 11 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 12 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 2: Primary school (Mong Kok) |
Five boys and 18 girls (aged 6 to 8) and four staff members; 24 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 6 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 3: Primary school (Kowloon City) |
10 boys and 18 girls (aged 6 to 8); 21 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 10 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 4: Primary school (Sai Kung) |
Eight boys and 13 girls (aged 6 to 10); 14 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 8 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 5: Primary school (Sha Tin) |
11 boys and nine girls (aged 6 to 9) and one staff member; 16 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 8 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 6: Primary school (Tuen Mun) |
19 boys and 10 girls (aged 6 to 8); 18 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 9 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 7: Primary school (Islands District) |
10 boys and 13 girls (aged 6 to 11); 20 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 10 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 8: Special school (Sai Kung) |
12 males and five females (aged 6 to 18) and six staff members; four of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 9 | Fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat |
| Case 9: Special school (Yuen Long) |
18 males and two females (aged 6 to 18) and 11 staff members; 11 of them sought medical attention; all are in stable condition and none required hospitalisation | November 6 | Cough, runny nose and sore throat |
The Secretary for the Civil Service (SCS), Mr Patrick Nip, today (November 17) commended 100 civil servants for their outstanding work performance at the SCS’s Commendation Award Presentation Ceremony 2020. The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, also attended the ceremony to extend her congratulations to the award recipients and encourage them to continue to serve the public with dedication.
Addressing the ceremony, Mr Nip said Hong Kong has been battered by social unrest, violent incidents and the COVID-19 epidemic in the past year, putting the Government and society, as well as the civil service and the public under tremendous pressure. He expressed his sincere gratitude to the civil servants who not only remained steadfast in carrying out their duties, but were also willing to walk an extra mile and make concerted efforts with each other in serving the community.
Mr Nip said that since he took up the office in April, he has visited more than 10 departments. He learned from many frontline colleagues how civil servants served the public with dedication and professionalism, and displayed strength in stabilising society and supporting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG).
“When knowing that the Police needed support from the disciplined services, many immediately signed up to work as special constables; when knowing that more professionals were needed to fight and help track the epidemic situation, many signed up to join enthusiastically; when knowing that the situation was tense, they did not complain but remained steadfast in carrying out their duties,” he said.
“The successful completion of the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) in September is another good example of the civil service’s concerted efforts to stabilise the situation. The setting up of more than 140 community testing centres in all 18 districts to provide a convenient and speedy testing service for more than 1.78 million people in two weeks’ time was not an easy achievement. The UCTP could not have been such a great success without the experience, careful planning, flexibility and teamwork of civil service colleagues.
“Although civil service colleagues were only given an extremely short period of time to plan and implement the UCTP, they made concerted efforts and responded swiftly to rise to the challenges. Their professionalism and high efficiency were admirable, which was also the key to winning the public’s trust and support for the UCTP ultimately.
“Challenges remain in the years ahead. Hence, it is necessary for the civil service to work as a team and give unwavering support to the work of HKSARG,” he added.
The awardees this year came from 39 bureaux and departments, and from various professional and technical grades, disciplined services and general grades as well as Model Scale 1 grades. Mr Nip said that while the awardees held different positions and served in different areas, they were united in that they strived for excellence and spared no efforts in providing quality service to the public, adding that they were role models in the civil service and deserved the commendation.
Among the civil servants who were commended this year, some of them have directly participated in the anti-epidemic work. Senior Maintenance Surveyor of the Housing Department (HD), Mr Danny Cheng, with 33 years of service in the HD, played a part in formulating the Total Maintenance Scheme for public housing estates to provide in-flat inspections of units in buildings aged 10 years or above to improve the living environment of tenants and enhance building maintenance. When there were confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Hong Mei House in Cheung Hong Estate and over 100 tenants had to be evacuated straight away early this year, Mr Cheng and his team took immediate emergency action that night to inspect and repair the drain pipes of the units concerned in order to put the residents’ minds at ease.
Chief Health Inspector of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), Ms Leung Shu-yan, is now responsible for matters relating to environmental hygiene in Tuen Mun District. During the epidemic, she has led her teammates to conduct cleaning and disinfection work within a short time for more than 300 households with confirmed cases as well as places associated with infection clusters in Tuen Mun, thereby reducing the risks of virus transmission in the community. She said that the work of the FEHD was closely related to people’s daily lives and was full of challenges.
Senior Environmental Protection Inspector of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), Ms Cannis Cheung, has all along been committed to enforcing environmental legislation and safeguarding environmental quality. Together with the efforts of her team, the water quality of the Shing Mun River in Sha Tin has been rated “excellent” or “good” in the past five years. She considered that the efforts made by EPD colleagues have paid off whenever she saw people jogging at the riverside or canoeing on the river and enjoying the tranquility and comfort of the serene environment.
Another awardee is Chief Immigration Assistant of the Immigration Department, Mr Cheung Wai-kit. Mr Cheung has served in various control points. Apart from having to serve huge volumes of arrival visitors, he also had to stay alert at all times to stop people from entering Hong Kong illegally. He said that the work of serving as a gatekeeper for Hong Kong gave him a lot of job satisfaction.
With over 37 years of service in the Government, Workman II of the Marine Department, Mr Bang Li, has mainly been tasked with the provision of supporting services at the China Ferry Terminal and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal. He also provided customer-based services to passengers in need. Mr Li regarded the award as an encouragement to him and other civil service colleagues, as they would be recognised and commended for their hard work so long as they gave their best, regardless of their ranks.
In view of the epidemic situation, this year’s ceremony was held in a spacious venue in the Central Government Offices with adequate social distancing measures. In addition, only the awardees were invited to attend.
