Home Affairs Department works with various organisations to support ethnic minorities in fight against epidemic (with photos)
The Home Affairs Department (HAD) today (March 8) said that it has been walking hand in hand with the public in the fight against the epidemic by providing a variety of anti-epidemic support services to the community through different channels, including for ethnic minorities. The population of ethnic minorities residing in Yau Tsim Mong District is the highest among the 18 districts. The Yau Tsim Mong District Office (YTMDO) has been concerned about the needs of ethnic minorities and has been providing support to them in collaboration with various organisations in the district to fight against the epidemic. Such support includes distributing anti-epidemic supplies from the Central Government, providing anti-epidemic supplies packs to confirmed patients under home quarantine, organising various vaccination events and promoting anti-epidemic messages to ethnic minorities through different channels.
On anti-epidemic supplies, the YTMDO has been distributing supplies from the Central Government, including COVID-19 rapid test kits, to ethnic minority residents, cleansing workers and property management staff working in buildings with more ethnic minority households at various places in the district. The District Officer (Yau Tsim Mong), Mr Edward Yu, handed over rapid test kits in person to representatives of ethnic minority organisations at various locations for their distribution to members of their communities in the district.
In addition, the YTMDO has supported the Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon (LST) in launching a Stay Home Support Programme. The YTMDO has assisted in liaising with major district ethnic minority welfare organisations for case referrals, so as to distribute supplies packs (including halal food, disinfection supplies and rapid test kits) to ethnic minority families with confirmed patients under home quarantine. Witnessed by the Acting Director of Home Affairs, Miss Vega Wong, the LST handed over the packs to representatives of the relevant organisations.
On vaccination, the YTMDO has been collaborating with different organisations in organising various vaccination events. Recently, the YTMDO co-organised the Yau Tsim Mong District COVID-19 Vaccination Day with healthcare, local and youth organisations at Mong Kok Community Hall and allotted vaccination sessions for ethnic minorities and primary school and kindergarten students to assist in making bookings for them. In addition, the YTMDO will continue to support the community vaccination event at Tsim Sha Tsui Hall at 136A Nathan Road so as to provide more vaccination opportunities for the public. Due to the overwhelming response to the event, it has been extended to March 31 (operating from 10am to 12.30pm and from 2pm to 5pm every day). It provides a Sinovac vaccination service for persons aged 3 or above. The YTMDO will continue to promote the event to ethnic minorities. Members of the public can either get vaccinated by walking in, or make a group appointment through WhatsApp (+852 6878 0126).
To ensure that ethnic minorities can receive anti-epidemic information in a timely manner, the YTMDO has been translating important anti-epidemic messages into different ethnic minority languages and sending them to residents via different ethnic minority organisations. Apart from information about the Government's hotlines shared earlier, the YTMDO will disseminate key messages from the online information session organised in collaboration with various organisations lately in different ethnic minority languages. In addition, the YTMDO immediately shared information with ethnic minorities about the mechanism for direct admission to isolation facilities for confirmed patients announced by the Fire Services Department recently.
The Home Affairs Department and its District Offices will continue to walk hand in hand with the public in the fight against the epidemic by providing a variety of anti-epidemic support services to different ethnic groups through various channels.
