Tag Archives: China

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (November 29) published the biannual issue of the Medication Safety Bulletin (MSB). This issue highlights the HA medication safety forum 2024 held earlier this month, which aimed to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations in order to enhance medication safety.

     The latest issue also provides key updates on patient drug allergy checking in the Clinical Management System and highlights the key features of the HA’s new guideline on the safe management of anti-thromobotics. In addition, the Hong Kong West Cluster shares its experience in reminding healthcare workers about the cautious use of preparations of tetanus-containing vaccines and immunoglobulins.

     The publication has already been posted on the HA homepage for sharing with healthcare staff. Members of the public are also welcome to browse its content at the following link: www.ha.org.hk/msb. The MSB is published every six months, during the last week of May and November. The next issue will be published on May 30, 2025. read more

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (November 29) released the latest grading of water quality for 11 gazetted beaches that are open for swimming in November.
 
     Eight beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), and three as Fair (Grade 2).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:          

Clear Water Bay Second Beach	Middle Bay Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach	Repulse Bay Beach
Golden Beach	Silver Mine Bay Beach
Lido Beach	Stanley Main Beach

 
Grade 2 beaches are:

Big Wave Bay Beach	Silverstrand Beach
Casam Beach

 
     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 tropical cyclone 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 EPD’s website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666. Members of the public can also obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information for all beaches that are open for swimming through the EPD’s dedicated webpage on the beach water quality forecast (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast).  read more

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on November 28 to noon today (November 29), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 179 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24, 2023, to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 102 719 samples of food imported from Japan (including 66 098 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 23 064 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The Water Supplies Department (WSD) received the Winner Award and two Honorable Mentions at the Autodesk Hong Kong BIM Awards 2024. The awards presentation ceremony was held on November 20 in Hong Kong.
      
     The WSD’s Siu Ho Wan Water Treatment Works Extension Project won the Winner Award. The project team utilised building information modelling (BIM) to simulate the complex features of water treatment works, including structure, mechanical and electrical equipment, and routing of pipelines in a 3D manner, to enhance design accuracy. In addition, the project team incorporated the construction workflow and duration of various work activities into the model to dynamically display the situation of work sites in a 4D manner, promoting better co-ordination among stakeholders and greatly enhancing the effectiveness of construction management. The award showcases the department’s dedication to integrating cutting-edge BIM technology during the design and construction stages.
      
     Additionally, the adoption of digital tools such as BIM in asset management can enhance the operation and maintenance efficiency of the water supply system. Two WSD projects – (i) the First Stage of the Tseung Kwan O Desalination Plant and (ii) Digitalising Smart Water System for Smart Trunk Transfer Support System with Pump Optimisation in conjunction with artificial intelligence-Driven BIM and Geographic Information System Integration – received Honorable Mentions. These two projects highlight the significance and impact of the application of BIM technology to enhance the efficiency and reliability of water supply systems.
      
     The WSD team remains committed to leveraging innovative technologies and methodologies to ensure a reliable and efficient water supply for Hong Kong.

read more

      The Government today (November 29) announced details of the three pilot areas of large-scale land disposal in the Northern Metropolis.
 
      To expedite development of the Northern Metropolis, the Government actively leverages market forces and adopts diverse development modes. Apart from adopting the Enhanced Conventional New Town Approach under which landowners are allowed to participate in the development of new development areas through in-situ land exchanges, the Chief Executive announced in the 2024 Policy Address to adopt, on a pilot basis, a large-scale land disposal approach, under which sizable land parcels with commercial value and earmarked for provision of public facilities will be selected and granted to successful bidders for collective development. This approach enhances the participation of enterprises in important development for Hong Kong, and can speed up the development of the land parcels, at the same time reduce the financial outlay of the Government.
 
      The three pilot areas under large-scale land disposal are located in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, the Fanling North New Development Area and the San Tin Technopole, of about 12.5 hectares, 15.9 hectares and 18.6 hectares respectively. Each pilot area covers private residential, industry and public facility sites. Developers are required to carry out site formation and engineering infrastructure works for all the sites, retain the residential sites for development, and hand other sites back to the Government for management after constructing some public facilities such as roads and open space. The requirements on industry sites vary across the pilot areas, including the developers retaining certain site to construct and operate an enterprise and technology park building, requiring developers to construct an industry building and then hand it back to the Government, and some only requiring the developers to carry out site formation. One of the focus areas of the expression of interest exercise to be launched next month is to invite the market to put forward innovative and feasible suggestions, and to propose how developers could make good use of the large-scale land disposal approach to enable their in-depth and substantial participation in developing industry sites to promote industry development in the Northern Metropolis.
      
     A fact sheet of the three pilot areas has been uploaded onto the website of the Northern Metropolis (www.nm.gov.hk/en/northern-metropolis#s5). The Development Bureau had also introduced the pilot areas of large-scale land disposal to enterprises in today’s Enterprise Participation in Northern Metropolis Development Event.
 
      The Government will launch a three-month exercise in December this year to invite interested parties to submit expressions of interest for the three pilot areas of large-scale land disposal, in order to finalise the tender details and conditions later. The Government targets to commence the tendering work for the three pilot areas progressively from 2025 to 2026. read more