Government announces new arrangements for sale of New Year flowers
​In view of the volatile epidemic situation, the Government has earlier decided to cancel this year's Lunar New Year (LNY) fairs, and has been maintaining communication with the trade to explore various feasible measures with a view to minimising its impact on the trade. The Government understands the demands of the trade and the public for sale and purchase of New Year flowers, and announced today (January 19) the new arrangements for the sale of New Year flowers.
Under the premise of upholding the anti-epidemic principles, the Government has to keep the risk of the sale event of New Year flowers under control when responding to demands of the community. After careful consideration, the Government has decided to reduce the scale of the sale of New Year flowers so as to reduce the risk of group gatherings. For the convenience of flower farmers and the public, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will set up points of sale at the 15 sites originally designated for the LNY fairs, and will arrange the successful bidders of the stalls to sell New Year flowers and potted plants at the same venue. The number of stalls at the sites will be reduced by approximately half.
A spokesman for the FEHD said, "The points of sale of New Year flowers will be opened during the period from February 6 to February 11. Stall operators may use the sites for free, but must comply with the ground rules and anti-epidemic measures, e.g. provision of hand sanitisers at stalls, provision of a list of staff and their contact information for tracing of confirmed cases, etc.
"To make our anti-epidemic efforts effective, the footfall at points of sale will be monitored with the use of technology and various anti-epidemic measures will be strictly enforced. Stall operators and their staff at points of sale will also be required to undergo virus testing within 48 hours before the opening of the points of sale. The FEHD will provide one-off free testing services for them," the spokesman added.
The FEHD will brief the original successful bidders of the LNY fair stalls tomorrow on the arrangements.