Fatal traffic accident in Tai Po
Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Tai Po this afternoon (April 27) in which a man died. At 2.17pm, a taxi driven by a 76-year-old man was turning onto On C… read more
Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Tai Po this afternoon (April 27) in which a man died. At 2.17pm, a taxi driven by a 76-year-old man was turning onto On C… read more
​The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (April 27) investigating a case of severe paediatric influenza A infection and reminded the community to heighten vigilance against influenza. The CHP appealed to members of the public to receive seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) in a timely manner to better protect themselves during the influenza season.
The case involves a 4-year-old girl with good past health. She developed a fever and sore throat since April 25. She was taken to the St Paul’s Hospital on the next day for medical attention and was admitted on the same day. She was sent to the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital today due to worsening of symptoms and was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit of the hospital. Her respiratory specimen was positive for influenza A virus upon laboratory testing. The clinical diagnosis was influenza A infection complicated with encephalopathy. She is now in critical condition.
Initial enquiries by the CHP revealed that the patient had not received SIV for this season. The CHP’s investigations are ongoing.
A spokesman for the CHP said, “Influenza can cause serious illnesses in high-risk individuals and even healthy persons. SIV is one of the most effective means to prevent seasonal influenza and its complications, as well as reducing influenza-related hospitalisation and death. SIV is recommended for all persons aged 6 months or above except those with known contraindications. Persons at higher risk of getting influenza and its complications, including the elderly and children, should receive SIV early. As it takes about two weeks to develop antibodies, members of the public are advised to receive SIV early for protection against seasonal influenza. Please see details of the vaccination schemes on the CHP’s website.
A person who gets influenza and COVID-19 at the same time may be more seriously ill and would have a higher risk of death. It is important to receive both SIV and COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible, in particular for children and elderly persons residing in the community or residential care homes. The public should also maintain good personal and environmental hygiene against influenza and other respiratory illnesses, and note the following:
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, will depart for Beijing tomorrow (April 28) to attend the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum Fintech Parallel Forum (Parallel Forum) on April 29.
Organised by the Haidian District People’s Government, the Xicheng District People’s Government, the Asia Financial Cooperation Association, and Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, the Parallel Forum invites guests to discuss the prospects of integrated development of digital finance and artificial intelligence under the theme “AI for Digital Finance”. Mr Hui will deliver a keynote speech on how Hong Kong’s financial sector addresses the opportunities and challenges brought by artificial intelligence.
2024 Zhongguancun Forum is scheduled in Beijing from April 25 to 29. Launched in 2007 and with the one and only theme of “Innovation & Development”, the forum has grown into a global, comprehensive, open, and high-level international event for enhancing global innovation in science and technology.
Mr Hui will return to Hong Kong on April 30. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, will act as the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury. read more
The Fire Services Department (FSD) is holding the Big Hearts, Save Hearts Awards Ceremony cum Carnival for two consecutive days, starting today (April 27), at D‧PARK in Tsuen Wan to share the message with the public that lending a helping hand during emergencies saves lives. The event is funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (HKJCCT), organised by the FSD and co-organised by eight Resuscitation Alliance members, namely the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Civil Aid Service, the Hospital Authority, the Hong Kong College of Cardiology, the Hong Kong Red Cross, the Hong Kong St John Ambulance, the Resuscitation Council of Hong Kong, and the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Hong Kong Foundation.
Addressing the ceremony, the Director of Fire Services, Mr Andy Yeung, said that many people lose their lives each year through sudden cardiac arrest, but timely intervention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of automated external defibrillators (AED) can significantly increase patients’ chances of survival. In view of this, the FSD launched the AED Anywhere for Anyone (AAA) Programme in 2021, encouraging public and private organisations to install AEDs in their premises and facilities. The department has also introduced an online information platform, named Centralized AED Registry for Emergency, which provides real-time information on the location of AEDs and other relevant data for public access. Currently, nearly 3 000 AEDs are available for public use in various public places throughout Hong Kong.
Among the 282 organisations that have participated in the AAA programme, 26 were awarded the Big Heart of the Year Award and the Big Heart Outstanding Performance Award by the FSD today in recognition of their proactive promotion of AED installations.
The Assistant Director (Ambulance) of the FSD, Mr Henry Kwok, presented the Save Heart Award at the event today to commend members of the public who had rescued people during emergencies. The award ceremony featured short videos with sharing from some of the awardees, with a view to encouraging more citizens to save people’s lives.
The event is an initiative under the Hong Kong Fire Services Department Disaster Management Programme, which is funded by the HKJCCT and consistent with the safe communities objective. It offers a variety of activities, including the Big Heart and Save Heart award ceremonies, emergency preparedness information sharing by Big Heart Ambassador Miss Rosita Kwok, CPR and AED hands-on activities, and the AED Instruction Design Competition Award Ceremony, etc.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) convened inter-departmental meetings on March 26 and April 16 to co-ordinate the preparation work by various bureaux and departments, including port, traffic and transport arrangements as well as advice to visitors during the 2024 Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland. All relevant bureaux and departments have reserved no effort in implementing preparation work in all aspects with a view to creating a good travel experience for visitors and demonstrating Hong Kong’s unique city appeals, a Government spokesman said today (April 27).
Relevant port, traffic and transport arrangements as well as advice to visitors are set out below:
(1) Port arrangements
To meet the needs of inbound Mainland visitors as well as Hong Kong residents during the Golden Week, the port-related departments have established a series of measures to ensure smooth passenger and vehicular flows at various boundary control points (BCPs).
Based on current assessments, various ports will maintain normal opening hours. However, in view of the anticipated increase in the number of inbound visitors, relevant departments have minimised leave for frontline staff to facilitate more flexible deployment of manpower and operation of additional clearance counters and kiosks for easing passenger and vehicular flows. At the same time, additional security guards will be deployed to ports to assist in maintaining the order of boundary crossing travellers. In addition, the Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre, composed of relevant departments including the Customs and Excise Department (the Customs), the Hong Kong Police Force (the Police), and the Immigration Department (ImmD), etc. will be activated during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland to monitor the situation at various ports in real time and take contingency actions where necessary to ensure smooth operation. The Security Bureau will activate the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre in a timely manner to closely monitor and co-ordinate the situation at various ports and facilitate interdepartmental follow-up actions where necessary. Relevant departments will also maintain close liaison with their Mainland counterparts to step up co-ordination and communication at various ports.
​The Customs will also continue to strengthen promotion and education work. Apart from stepping up promotion at various ports, the Customs has disseminated a series of information on Smart Guide to Passenger Clearance via various social media platforms with photos and texts to remind the public of the items that are prohibited and controlled into and out of Hong Kong and the relevant laws in order to assist the public in avoiding the violation of laws. In addition, the Customs has also developed the Smart Customs Interactive Response System and introduced the Virtual Customs Ambassador XiaoHui, which can handle general enquiries raised by the public in real time in relation to the Customs’ work and provide information on ports through combining technologies on artificial intelligence, natural language processing, machine learning, etc, to enable visitors to access to information related to the Customs and import and export controls.
(2) Traffic and transport arrangements
To address the transport demand of cross-boundary travellers during the Golden Week and facilitate them to plan their itineraries ahead, the Transport Department (TD) has liaised with the relevant Mainland authorities and Hong Kong public transport operators with a view to making preparations to enhance public transport services and implement traffic measures at various BCPs/ports as and when necessary during the Golden Week. In respect of public transport services, the TD has issued 40 per cent more additional ad-hoc quotas than those of normal days, in order to enable cross-boundary coach (CBC) operators to increase service frequency during the Golden Week. The frequency of Lok Ma Chau – Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus), Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) shuttle bus (Gold Bus) and relevant franchised bus services will also be enhanced. In addition, the MTR will also strengthen services during the Golden Week to facilitate the travelling of passengers. As for the traffic arrangement for ports, the TD has coordinated with the Police and the Highways Department such that the Police will make appropriate traffic arrangements at Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port and Shenzhen Bay Port when necessary to separate various types of vehicles heading for the ports so as to provide a dedicated passage for public transport vehicles. The TD will also closely monitor the traffic condition of the HZMB Hong Kong Port and nearby roads, and maintain close liaison with relevant Mainland departments so as to adopt corresponding traffic measures as and when necessary.
In addition, the TD also reminded members of the public and visitors that there will be large-scale events at the Central Harbourfront Event Space during and around the Golden Week (i.e. April 30, May 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8). To facilitate dispersal of crowds leaving the venue, the following special transport arrangements will be implemented:
1. for rail service, to facilitate the dispersal of members of the public and visitors travelling to the Mainland after the events, the last train of the MTR East Rail Line heading for Lo Wu will depart from Admiralty Station at 11.32pm on the above dates. Arrangements will also be made at the Lo Wu Control Point to handle the passenger clearance service accordingly;
2. for franchised bus service, after the end of events, franchised bus companies will operate the following six special bus routes near the event venue:
Route No. | Destination | Boarding Point |
To BCPs | ||
1) CTB Route No. 976R* | Lok Ma Chau (San Tin) Public Transport Interchange (PTI) |
|
2) CTB Route No. A11R* | Airport (via HZMB Hong Kong Port) | |
To other districts | ||
3) CTB Route No. 18R | Heng Fa Chuen |
|
4) KMB Route No. 160R | Hung Shui Kiu (via Tuen Mun) |
|
5) KMB Route No. 168R | Yuen Long (West) | |
6) KMB Route No. 178R | Luen Wo Hui, Fanling (via Sheung Shui) |