The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou gold medallists bring their winning spirit to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).

     Rowing athletes Lam San-tung and Wong Wai-chun, who won the first gold medal (Rowing Men's Coxless Pairs) for the Hong Kong, China Delegation in the Asian Games Hangzhou, took time off to visit PMH on November 13, where they shared their journey to victory and some behind-the-scenes moments, hoping to sprinkle positivity on patients and healthcare workers.

     During the sharing session, Lam referred to their struggles to achieve their goal and encouraged healthcare workers to continue their hard work in safeguarding the health of the public. Lam said, "We have long set our sights on winning the gold medal in the Asian Games. Despite the rigorous training, as long as we have a clear goal and give it our all, we knew we can live out our dreams."

     The duo also visited the Integrated Neurological Rehabilitation Centre and paediatric ward, where they took photos with medical staff and paediatric patients and wished the children a speedy recovery.

     Wong expressed his hope that this visit can uplift everyone's spirit. Wong said, "We know that public hospitals are always busy, especially during the winter season. We hope to take this opportunity to cheer up our healthcare workers and encourage them to continue protecting the health of the community with the spirit of rising to challenges. We deeply admire the professionalism and dedication of healthcare workers and are grateful for their commitment and devoted care for patients amid heavy workloads."

            

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, visited Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong today (November 15) to learn more about the child care services at the district level and inspect the alignment of the proposed smart and green mass transit system in East Kowloon, as well as interacting with residents in the districts.
      
     The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Director of Highways, Mr Jimmy Chan; and the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, joined relevant parts of the visit.
      
     Accompanied by the District Officer (Wong Tai Sin), Mr Thomas Wu, Mr Lee and the officials visited Chinese Evangelical Zion Church Grace After School Care Centre for Pre-primary Children at Tsz Lok Estate, Wong Tai Sin, which is subsidised by the Social Welfare Department, to learn more about its care services provided to parents who are unable to take care of their young children during after-school hours due to work or other reasons. Mr Lee also interacted with parents receiving the services to understand their needs in childbearing.
      
     Mr Lee then visited a home-based child carer participating in the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project to understand the daily lives of her and the children under her care.
      
     Mr Lee said that the latest Policy Address introduced a series of measures to promote fertility, including the enhancement of support to families with newborns and working families in childbearing. He said he hopes to promote fertility and encourage enterprises to introduce family-friendly and parenting-friendly measures through providing a firm policy direction. He also said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will continue to coalesce the community in building a caring and inclusive society that is conducive to family development.
      
     Accompanied by the District Officer (Kwun Tong), Mr Denny Ho, Mr Lee and the officials then visited Shun Lee Estate in Kwun Tong to inspect the alignment of the proposed smart and green mass transit system in East Kowloon and were briefed about the project. Mr Lee said that the Policy Address introduced a number of projects on strengthening transport network, such as constructing smart and green mass transit systems in three districts including East Kowloon, with a view to improving the overall district transportation in districts and unleashing development potential.
      
     After that, Mr Lee chatted with members of the public and shop tenants in Shun Lee Estate to understand their daily lives and business, and introduced the new measures on strengthening the economy and improving people's livelihood in the Policy Address to them. He also handed out promotional leaflets about the District Council Election to members of the public, and encouraged them to cast their votes on the polling day of the District Council Election on December 10, with a view to electing those who have the dedication and capability to serve the community with an affection for the country and for Hong Kong as District Council members to serve the public and build a better community.
      
     "Making Hong Kong a better place for all is one of the policy objectives of the HKSAR Government. My team and I will continue to work tirelessly to address the needs of society and press ahead with the implementation of the policies proposed in the Policy Address, with a view to jointly creating a cohesive and caring community, with a vibrant economy where everyone can enjoy life," Mr Lee said.

                  

     Studiodanz Company Limited and Engineering Impact Limited were fined $132,000 and $220,000 respectively at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (November 15). Studiodanz Company Limited violated the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO) and the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO), whereas Engineering Impact Limited violated the OSHO. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department (LD).

     The case involved two accidents that occurred in connection with a concert held in July 2022 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, Hung Hom. During a concert rehearsal on July 25, 2022, a dancer fell off the stage into a void and was injured. On July 28, 2022, two dancers were hit and injured by a display panel that fell from height during a stage performance of the concert.   
 
     The LD hopes that the judgement will send a strong message to other duty holders that they are required to protect employees' occupational safety and health (OSH), give notice of any accident to the Commissioner for Labour and take out employees' compensation insurance policies for their employees in accordance with the law. The LD safeguards OSH and statutory employment rights and benefits of all employees in Hong Kong. The LD does not tolerate such offences and spares no effort in prosecuting employers/occupiers of premises who defy the law.  

     The LD stresses that employers and occupiers of premises are required to take adequate OSH precautions pursuant to relevant provisions under the OSH law. The ECO stipulates that employers should give notice of accidents to the Commissioner for Labour in the prescribed form within the statutory time limit, and that employers are required to take out employees' compensation insurance policies for all their employees to cover the liabilities of employers under the laws (including the common law) for injuries at work.

     The open auction for stalls at the 2024 Victoria Park Lunar New Year (LNY) Fair concluded today (November 15). The total revenue was $8,174,059.
 
     A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that a total of 352 stalls at the Fair, including 165 for dry goods, 175 for wet goods, eight for thematic and four for fast food, were let out during the three-day open auction.
 
     To summarise the results of the auction for the dry goods stalls held during the past two days (November 14 and 15), the successful bids ranged from $8,540 to $33,000, which averaged out to $11,378. The highest bid of $33,000 was about four times the opening price of $8,540. The auction of dry goods stalls fetched a total of $1,877,315.
 
     The three auction days for the Victoria Park LNY Fair stalls attracted about 1,320 participants in total.
 
     The auction for stalls of the Tat Tung Road Garden LNY Fair in Tung Chung will be held tomorrow (November 16) at Assembly Hall, 2/F, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, 19 Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. The auction session is scheduled from 9am until completion of the auction.
 
     The auctions for stalls of the LNY fairs in Fa Hui Park and Cheung Sha Wan Playground in Sham Shui Po, Morse Park in Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong Recreation Ground in Kwun Tong will be held at the above-mentioned venue from November 17 to 22. The auction sessions are scheduled from 9am or 9.30am to 12.30pm (AM session) and 2pm until completion of the auction (PM session).
 
     The spokesman reminded the successful bidders to comply with all stipulations and provisions as set out in the licence agreement. Otherwise, the department is entitled to terminate the agreement and the licensee shall immediately vacate the stall.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 15) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Csongrád-Csanád County in Hungary; and a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Utrecht Province in the Netherlands, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Hungary for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 270 tonnes and about 50 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Hungary and the Netherlands respectively in the first nine months of this year. 

     "The CFS has contacted the Hungarian and Dutch authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.