â€‹Hong Kong Customs inspected one lot of containers in May and seized about 74 400 kilograms of suspected scheduled Guibourtia species wood logs with an estimated market value of about $600 000.

     Through risk assessment, Customs officers inspected one lot of containers, declared to contain wood logs arriving in Hong Kong from Gabon, at the Tsing Yi Cargo Examination Compound. Upon inspection, Customs officers found the suspected scheduled Guibourtia species wood logs in three of the containers. 

     The case was handed over to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for follow-up investigation. 

     Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (June 11) investigating an outbreak of scabies at a residential care home for the elderly (RCHE) in Tuen Mun, and reminded the public to maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene against scabies.

     The outbreak involves six male and 14 female residents aged 73 to 95. They have presented with skin itchiness and rash since May 5. All sought medical attention and none required hospitalisation. All patients have been in a stable condition.

     The skin scraping of an affected person was confirmed to have Sarcoptes scabiei after laboratory examination.

     Officers of the CHP have conducted a site visit and advised the RCHE to adopt necessary infection control measures against scabies infections. The RCHE has been put under medical surveillance.

     RCHEs are reminded to follow the Guidelines on Prevention of Communicable Diseases on preventive and control measures as well as management of outbreaks, which should be reported to the CHP for prompt follow-up. 
 
     "Scabies is a skin disease caused by a mite called Sarcoptes scabiei and usually spreads through direct skin contact with infested people. Their clothing and bedding may also carry the mites and eggs and transmit the disease. Infested people usually present with intense itchiness. The common affected areas are finger webs, and skin folds of wrists, elbows, armpits, nipples, the lower abdomen, external genitalia, buttocks and groins. It can affect people of all ages, but people with weakened immunity or the elderly are more susceptible. Scabies can spread rapidly in crowded conditions, hence outbreaks of scabies have been reported in hospitals, child-care facilities, hostels and elderly homes," a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     The public should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene for protection against scabies infestation:
 

• Keep good personal hygiene, perform hand hygiene frequently and bath daily;
• Regularly change into clean clothing and regularly change towels and bed linen;
• Avoid sharing clothing and personal items with others;
• Perform skin inspection for institutionalised residents regularly for early identification of infestation;
• When caring for and coming into contact with infested persons, wear appropriate personal protective gear such as gloves and a gown;
• Wash hands thoroughly before and after contact with an infested person;
• Wash the clothing, towels and bed linen of infested persons separately. These items should be washed in hot water at 60 degrees Celsius or above for not less than 10 minutes so as to kill the mites and their eggs. Place non-washable items in a plastic bag and seal it up for at least 14 days before reuse;
• If you suspect scabies, seek medical advice immediately.

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, today (June 11) encouraged local university students embarking on an exchange programme to Shanghai to grasp the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the financial markets and economic environment in the two places.
 
      Officiating at a launch ceremony for the Cross-boundary Study Tour for Post-secondary Financial Talents 2019 (the Programme), Mr Lau thanked financial industry leaders for their continuous support for the Programme, which has entered its eighth year. Participating students are offered invaluable working experience covering banking, insurance, securities, accounting, asset management and financial technologies. Mr Lau appealed to the students to make use of the exchange opportunity to experience the local economic environment and the corporate working culture, as well as to interact with Mainland financial talents, with a view to better equipping themselves for their future career development.
 
      Mr Lau also encouraged the students to learn more about national development goals, including how Hong Kong and Shanghai can leverage their respective unique edges and systems to collaborate and promote regional economic development in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He noted that Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, plays a paramount role in promoting the economic development, serving enterprises and enhancing capital flows in the Greater Bay Area.  
 
      Also addressing the launch ceremony, Council Member of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Dr Hubert Chan, and the President and Chief Executive of the Fin Society, Mr Shannon Cheung, expressed their delight in co-organising the Programme again as the Assisting Organisation and the Supporting Organisation respectively. They further encouraged the students to make full use of the exchange opportunity for future career development in the financial industry. Dr Chan said he was glad to see that past participants were able to learn the operation of the Mainland's financial markets and business culture, and also to strengthen their interpersonal and networking skills. Mr Cheung expressed the hope that the students would integrate themselves into the local community and gain a better understanding of the current economic situation in the Mainland through visits to "new economy" enterprises.
 
     This year, 31 students from nine universities in Hong Kong are taking part in the Programme. They will depart for Shanghai on June 17 for a six-week exchange programme comprising attachments to financial institutions for about five weeks; visits to government organisations, financial regulators and exchanges; and exchange activities with Shanghai students. Reciprocally, a group of Shanghai university students who are taking part in the Programme will visit Hong Kong in late July.
 
      On signing the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Advancing Hong Kong-Shanghai Financial Co-operation (MOU) in 2010, Hong Kong and Shanghai agreed to strengthen co-operation in four areas, namely the development of the securities markets, the development of the bond markets, the mutual establishment of financial institutions, and the training and exchange of financial talents. Under the MOU, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Office jointly launched the Programme in 2012.

      

     The Transport Department today (June 11) signed a contract with CPB Contractors Pty Limited for a sum of $218 million which mainly comprises the supply and installation of approximately 660 traffic detectors, new journey time indicators at 19 locations and an enhanced speed map panel on strategic routes and major roads; integration of the existing journey time indication system and speed map panel system into the new systems; and the six-year operation and maintenance services for the completed facilities.
               â€‹
     Installation of traffic detectors on all strategic routes to provide real-time traffic information is one of the smart mobility initiatives in the Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint. The installation works are implemented in two phases. The first phase commenced last June, with some traffic detectors installed and put into use. The contract signed today belongs to the second phase installation. 

     After completion of both phases of installation works, which are expected to be completed by the end of next year, all strategic routes and major roads will be equipped with traffic detectors, which will enhance the efficiency of traffic and incident management. The expanded coverage of traffic detectors, the journey time indication system and the speed map panel system will also enable dissemination of more real-time traffic data and information, assisting the public to better plan their journeys and select suitable routes or transport modes.

  

     The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) made the following pay offers, effective retrospectively from April 1, 2019 to the staff side of the four civil service central consultative councils today (June 11):

(a) a pay increase of 4.75 per cent for civil servants in the upper salary band and the directorate, subject to the pay points referred to in (i) and (ii) below the dollar values of which should be as specified:

(i) Master Pay Scale (MPS) 34 at $74,515 and MPS 35 at $75,265; and

(ii) General Disciplined Services (Officer) Pay Scale (GDS(O)) 20 and Police Pay Scale (PPS) 36 at $74,390, and GDS(O) 21 and PPS 37 at $75,135; and

(b) a pay increase of 5.26 per cent for civil servants in the lower and middle salary bands.

     "Having regard to the increasing payroll cost of increments (PCIs) over the past ten years and its impact on the net pay trend indicators (PTIs)(Note), the Chief Executive-in-Council (CE-in-Council) also decided that from the 2019-20 civil service pay adjustment onwards, the respective average PCIs for each salary band from 1989-90 (i.e. the year when the relevant deduction arrangement was first implemented) to 2019-20, or the actual PCIs for the particular salary band for the year, whichever is the lower, will be adopted for deriving the net PTI for that salary band," a spokesman for the CSB said.

     According to the relevant decision, as the average PCIs from 1989-90 to 2019-20 for the upper, middle and lower salary bands (at 1.04 per cent, 1.03 per cent and 1.16 per cent respectively) are all lower than the actual PCIs for the respective salary bands (i.e. 1.21 per cent, 1.21 per cent and 2.19 per cent), the aforementioned average PCIs will be adopted for calculating the net PTIs for 2019-20, which will be 4.75 per cent, 5.26 per cent and 4.16 per cent for the upper, middle and lower salary bands respectively.

     "The CE-in-Council has considered the pay offers in accordance with the established mechanism. According to the usual practice, since the 2019-20 net PTI for the lower salary band is lower than that for the middle salary band, the CE-in-Council decided that the pay adjustment for civil servants in the lower salary band should be 'brought-up' to the same level of the net PTI for the middle salary band. The pay offer for directorate civil servants follows the arrangement for civil servants in the upper salary band," the spokesman said.

     The above decisions were made by the CE-in-Council after considering all relevant factors under the established annual civil service pay adjustment mechanism, including:

* the net PTIs;
* the state of Hong Kong's economy;
* changes in the cost of living;
* the Government's fiscal position;
* the pay claims of the staff side; and
* civil service morale.
 
     "After the CE-in-Council considers the response from the staff side and makes a decision on the 2019-20 civil service pay adjustment, the Government will submit the pay adjustment proposal to the Legislative Council Finance Committee for consideration as soon as possible," the spokesman added.

Note: In line with the established mechanism, the respective civil service PCIs are deducted from the gross PTI of each salary band from the Pay Trend Survey to derive the net PTI.