The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     Details of the meetings of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and its Committees to be held in the LegCo Complex during the week from January 6 to ‍10 are available in the meeting schedule attached.
 
     The information in the meeting schedule is subject to change. Please refer to the "LegCo Calendar" on the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk) for the latest details of meetings.
 
     Members of the public are welcome to observe open meetings of LegCo and its Committees. Interested individuals and groups are advised to make advance booking of seats by calling the LegCo Secretariat at 3919 3399 during office hours. Members of the public can also listen to or watch all open meetings via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website.
 

     The Transport Department (TD) today (January 3) reminded the public that special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in Causeway Bay, Jardine's Lookout and Southern District this Sunday (January 5) to facilitate the holding of the 2019/2020 Hong Kong and Kowloon Walk for Millions.
 
     The special traffic and transport arrangements mainly include:
 
* From about 7am, Stadium Path, Caroline Hill Road, Link Road southbound (uphill), Broadwood Road (downhill), parts of Tai Hang Road and Mount Butler Road will be closed in phases;
 
* During the road closure period, Citybus routes 5B, 11 and 41A, New World First Bus route 8H, cross-harbour route 936 and green minibus routes 5, 14M, 24M and 30 will be temporarily diverted; and
 
* From 6am, all on-street parking spaces at Stadium Path, Caroline Hill Road, Hoi Ping Road and Coombe Road will be suspended.
 
     The TD anticipates that the traffic in the vicinity of the affected areas will be congested. Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of the Police. Members of the public who plan to go to the affected areas are advised to use public transport services as far as possible.
 
     The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures whenever necessary. Members of the public are advised to be alert to the latest traffic news on radio and television.
 
     For details on the special traffic and transport arrangements, members of the public can call 1823 or browse the TD's mobile application "HKeMobility" or website (www.td.gov.hk).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients infected with Coronavirus OC43 in a male ward for severe intellectual disability, the spokesperson for Siu Lam Hospital gave the following update today (January 3):
 
     One more 73-year-old patient and a staff member in the ward presented with respiratory symptoms. Appropriate viral tests were arranged for the patient and the test results were positive for Coronavirus OC43. The patient concerned is being treated under isolation with stable condition. The staff member is currently on leave. Coronavirus OC43 is a known human coronavirus that usually causes mild respiratory infection such as common cold.
 
     Admission to the ward has been suspended and restricted visiting has been imposed. Infection control measures have already been stepped up according to established guidelines. All other patients in the ward are under close surveillance.
 
     The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements this Sunday (January 5) to facilitate a public order event to be held on Hong Kong Island.

A. Road closure

From 7am:

– Stadium Path.

From 8am:

– Northbound Caroline Hill Road between Link Road and Eastern Hospital Road;
– Uphill Link Road between Caroline Hill Road and Broadwood Road;
– Downhill Broadwood Road between Link Road and Tai Hang Road;
– Downhill Broadwood Road between Link Road and Ventris Road;
– Southbound Tai Hang Road between Broadwood Road and upper Blue Pool Road, except for access by local residents, franchised buses and green mini-buses (GMBs);
– Eastbound Tai Hang Road between Broadwood Road and lower Blue Pool Road, except for access by local residents, franchised buses and GMBs;
– Mount Butler Road between Tai Hang Road and Price Road;
– Leftmost lane of uphill Wong Nai Chung Gap Road between the French International School and the Hong Kong Girl Guides Sandilands Centreï¼›and
– If necessary, Eastern Hospital Road between Caroline Hill Road and Cotton Path.

B. Traffic diversions

From 7.30am:

– Caroline Hill Road between Leighton Road and Stadium Path will be re-routed one-way southbound; and
– Eastern Hospital Road between Stadium Path and Tung Lo Wan Road will be re-routed one-way northbound.

From 8am:

– Traffic along southbound Caroline Hill Road cannot turn right to uphill Link Road;
– Link Road between Broadwood Road and Caroline Hill Road will be maintained one-way downhill. Traffic along downhill Link Road may not be allowed to turn right at the junction of Link Road and Caroline Hill Road and that of Caroline Hill Road and Leighton Road;
– Broadwood Road between Link Road and Tai Hang Road will be maintained one-way uphill southbound. Traffic along Broadwood Road will be diverted to northbound Tai Hang Road;
– Traffic along southbound Tai Hang Road will be diverted to Perkins Road or make a U-turn to northbound Tai Hang Road;
– Traffic along eastbound Tai Hang Road and lower westbound Blue Pool Road will be diverted to westbound Tai Hang Road, except for access by local residents, franchised bus routes No.41A and 11, and GMB routes No.14M and 24M;
– Mount Butler Road between Mount Butler Drive and Price Road will be re-routed one-way downhill; and
– If necessary, traffic along northbound Caroline Hill Road cannot turn right to Eastern Hospital Road.

From 9.30am:

– Traffic along Stubbs Road cannot enter the Wan Chai Gap Park area and will be diverted to Magazine Gap Road and Coombe Road.

C. Suspension of parking spaces
     
     All parking spaces on Stadium Path, Caroline Hill Road and Hoi Ping Road will be suspended from 6am to 12 noon.

     All parking spaces on Coombe Road will be suspended from 6am to 3pm.

D. Prohibition to learner drivers
     
     The following roads will be prohibited to all learner drivers from 6am to 3pm:

– Tai Hang Road;
– Leighton Road;
– Sharp Street East;
– Percival Street south of Hennessy Road;
– Caroline Hill Road;
– Link Road;
– Stadium Path;
– Cotton Path;
– Eastern Hospital Road;
– Eastern Hospital Road service road;
– Broadwood Road;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Gap Road;
– Southbound Stubbs Road flyover;
– Aberdeen Reservoir Road; and
– Yue Kwong Road.
     
     All vehicles parked illegally may be towed away without prior notice.

     Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (January 3) released the latest grading of water quality for four gazetted beaches that are open all year round for swimming.     
   
     Four beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:  
       

 
     Compared with the grading released last week, there was no change in the grading for these beaches.
      
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
      
     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, an EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a storm or heavy rainfall.
      
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.