A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) today (June 13) appealed to members of the public to stay alert to fraudulent telephone calls purported to be made by the bureau.

     The spokesman said the bureau received reports from members of the public today that they have received calls, falsely claimed to be made by CEDB, asking them to visit the CEDB's office for handling refund matters in connection with online shopping.

     The spokesman stressed that CEDB has no connection with the fraudulent calls.  Members of the public are reminded not to disclose any personal information to unidentified phone calls. They may report cases of suspected phone scam to the Police.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (June 13) held a public health exercise code-named "Kyanite" to test and strengthen the preparedness and co-ordination abilities of the Government in handling an imported case of measles, with a view to enhancing awareness among stakeholders on the handling of public health emergencies.

     About 40 participants from the DH, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Airport Authority took part in the exercise or attended as observers. The exercise consisted of two parts. The first part was a table-top exercise conducted on June 5, in which the DH and the HA discussed and co-ordinated the response measures required in a simulated scenario when a case of measles infection occurred in an international youth leadership programme held in a holiday village, with subsequent identification of disease transmissions on the flight and in the hospital.

     The second part, conducted today, was a ground movement exercise. Under the exercise simulation, upon notification by the HA of a case of measles infection, the CHP immediately commenced epidemiological investigations. An initial investigation revealed that the case was imported. The patient had not been vaccinated against measles and was an overseas visitor participating in an international event held in the holiday village. The CHP immediately conducted a site visit to the holiday village concerned, traced contacts of the index case, and carried out post-exposure vaccination and relevant follow-up actions. The CHP also inspected the environment of the holiday village and implemented appropriate infection control measures.

     Measles is a highly infectious but vaccine-preventable disease. It can be transmitted by airborne droplets or direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected persons. A patient can pass the disease to other persons from four days before to four days after the appearance of a skin rash. The incubation period of measles ranges from seven days to 21 days. Symptoms of measles include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles.

     The global immunisation coverage rates have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries worldwide are facing a resurgence of measles outbreaks. According to the World Health Organization, more than 320 000 measles cases were recorded in 2023 worldwide, and up to May 2024, nearly 180 000 measles cases have been recorded so far this year. Locally, a similar upsurge of measles cases was observed earlier this year.  As at June 12, CHP has recorded eight cases of measles (including six imported cases), already exceeding the annual total in 2022 and 2023 (3 cases each). Among the eight cases, four were unvaccinated including two 11-month-old infants, and two cases had unknown vaccination history.

     Hong Kong has achieved the interruption of endemic measles virus transmission since 2016. As the vaccination coverage of two doses of measles-containing vaccine in the local population were all along maintained at over 95 per cent, and the local seroprevalence rates of measles virus antibodies reflect that most of the people in Hong Kong are immune to measles, the risk of a large-scale measles outbreak in the local community is considered to be low. Nonetheless, as a metropolitan city with a high volume of international travel, Hong Kong has been constantly facing the risk of measles virus importation and the potential risk of further spread in the local community, especially amid the global measles resurgence in recent years.

     A spokesman for the CHP said, "This exercise provided a valuable opportunity for relevant government departments and the HA to test the response capabilities of stakeholders in the handling of measles outbreaks. The DH has held nearly 30 similar exercises in the past, simulating the situation with cases such as novel influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Ebola virus disease and plague. We hope that these exercises will enhance the community and healthcare personnel's awareness of possible epidemics and keep them alert and prepared."

     The spokesman pointed out that getting vaccinated is the first step to prevent measles infection. Members of the public who are planning to travel to places with a high incidence or outbreaks of measles should review their vaccination history and past medical history, especially people born outside Hong Kong who might not have received a measles vaccination during childhood. Those who have not received two doses of measles-containing vaccines, with unknown vaccination history or unknown immunity against measles, are urged to consult their doctor for advice on vaccinations at least two weeks before departure.

     Besides receiving vaccination, members of the public should take the following measures to prevent measles infection:

• Maintain good personal and environmental hygiene;
• Maintain good indoor ventilation;
• Keep hands clean and wash hands properly;
• Wash hands when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions, such as after sneezing;
• Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing and dispose of nasal and mouth discharge properly;
• Clean used toys and furniture properly; and
• Persons suspect to be suffering from measles should promptly consult a healthcare professional to receive appropriate medical care and management.

     â€‹For more information on measles, the public may visit the CHP's measles thematic page. Members of the public who are going to travel can visit the website of the DH's Travel Health Service for news of measles outbreaks outside Hong Kong.

          

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, at a media session for the Light Public Housing (LPH) Phase 1 application this afternoon (June 13):
 
Reporter: Why would the priority be given to those opted for the New Territories, do you mind explaining briefly to English viewers? The second question is 85 000 eligible applicants, but only 4 400 available LPH for now, what are the remedial measures to expedite the provision of housing to them? 
 
Secretary for Housing: Thank you. Second question first. This is only the first batch, our target is to provide 30 000 light public housing units by the year 2026/27. All the projects are in full speed, all the projects are being pushed forward on the site. So we are just announcing the first batch of 4 400 (units). You will be hearing such announcement coming in later this year, and maybe early next year, batch by batch. This is how we are processing, and handling this application, because we want to handle one batch after the other, so that we can also manage the workload coming to our processing team.
 
​     The next question is about the marking system. When we talk about the marking system, we also take into consideration comments that was given to us during the consultation. For example, families with young children, many organisations told us that changes that can bring to those families are really remarkable, and very obvious. Because for children when they grow up, like from four years old to 10 years old, this is a very critical period, these five years. If you leave them in sub-divided units in such a poor condition, it really affects their learning, their growing up, and their social abilities. If we move them out from such a poor environment, give them a much better caring situation, with social workers, with good operators taking care of them, their changes are very obvious. Their improvement in schools, their results, their social abilities, communication skills, teaming skills, are all very much improved. Thank you.
 
Reporter: Can I ask about the KPI of the operators? Because we notice there are some KPIs set for them. So what is the KPI for Choi Hing Road and also what is your expectation of the occupancy rate?
 
Secretary for Housing: Thank you. For all the operation tenders, actually the tender for the first batch has returned and we are tendering the second batch. So we are taking care of the tenders of the operation contracts. In all the tenders we had set KPIs in both the maintenance work, cleaning work, security and also the social services to be provided to the tenants. If the performance is not up to the standard, expenses and costs will be deducted from their monthly payment. We also set the KPI for occupancy rate. From certain month onwards, they have to reach an occupancy of (for example) 95 per cent. If that occupancy is reached or exceeded, we will give them rewards, some extra money. If they fall below certain standard, then some marks will be deducted from their performance. That’s how we try to monitor their performance.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese version of the transcript.)

  

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 13) announced that a sample of frozen sole imported from France was detected with methylmercury, a metallic contaminant, at a level exceeding the legal limit. The CFS is following up on the incident. Members of the public should not consume the affected batch of the product. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected batch of the product immediately if they possess it.

     Product details are as follows:

Product name: Frozen Sole
Place of origin: France
Manufacture Date: February 7, 2024
Best-before: February 7, 2027
Importer: The House of Fine Foods Limited

     "The CFS collected the above-mentioned sample at the import level for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained methylmercury at a level of 0.8 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the legal limit of 0.5 ppm," a spokesman for the CFS said.

     The spokesman said that the CFS had informed the importer concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected product. The CFS is also tracing the source and distribution of the product concerned.

     "Methylmercury is the major form of mercury in fish. At high levels, mercury can affect foetal brain development, and affect vision, hearing, muscle co-ordination and memory in adults. Furthermore, as some international organisations such as the World Health Organization have pointed out, consuming predatory fish species is the main source of mercury intake for human beings. The report of the CFS's Total Diet Study has also pointed out that large fish or predatory fish species may contain high mercury levels (for example, tuna, alfonsino, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and king mackerel). Hence, groups particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of mercury, such as pregnant women, women planning a pregnancy and young children should opt for fish that are smaller in size for consumption and avoid consumption of the above-mentioned types of fish to minimise excessive exposure to metal contaminants in food," the spokesman added.

     According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap. 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limit is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     The CFS will alert the French authorities and the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. An investigation is ongoing.

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, met with the Managing Director of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP) today (June 13) to express deep concern over the power outage incident that occurred in the Wong Tai Sin area last night (June 12).
 
     Stable and reliable power supply is very important to the daily lives of the public and every level of economic activities in Hong Kong. Recently, there have been a number of voltage dips and power supply interruption incidents, and the frequency of these incidents has led to concerns about whether CLP's service quality is on the decline. This incident should not be treated as an isolated event, and CLP needs to examine its company culture and management system for the entire power supply system to identify the root causes of the problem, make fundamental improvements to reduce the chances of similar incidents in the future, and maintain the stable and reliable power supply that Hong Kong has always been proud of.
 
     At the meeting, Mr Tse made a request to the Managing Director of CLP for CLP to allocate resources for an independent consultant. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) will be responsible for engaging an independent consultant, who will report to the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services (DEMS) after:
 
(1) Conducting a re-examination of all voltage dips and power supply interruption incidents that occurred in the past three years, listing the causes, improvement measures, implementation status of the measures, and their effectiveness; 

(2) Conducting a comprehensive review of the safety design of the power supply system, its capability to withstand the impact of external factors, the arrangements for maintenance and preventive maintenance, the procurement and inspection system for materials, the supervision and quality assurance standards, as well as personnel qualification, training and retraining requirements; and 

(3) Providing comprehensive recommendations on how to enhance the stability and reliability of the power supply, and reduce the chances of similar incidents in the future. 

     The EMSD will form a task force with CLP to work on the above requirements, with a view to completing the tasks and submitting a report within 12 months. The DEMS will also invite local experts and scholars to establish a steering committee to work together in supervising the work of the independent consultant and advise on the report. At the same time, the Environment and Ecology Bureau will continue to negotiate with CLP on modifying the Scheme of Control Agreement by introducing terms of penalty to facilitate a reduction in the occurrence of electrical incidents.
 
     Furthermore, the EMSD has requested that CLP identify the cause of the power supply incident last night and submit a detailed report within four weeks in accordance with the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406).