Three charities have been issued Public Subscription Permits to hold flag sales from 7am to 12.30pm today (June 1). They are, on Hong Kong Island, the Conservancy Association; in Kowloon, Association of Hong Kong Flag-Guards Limited; and in the New Territories, the International Nature Loving Association Limited, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said.

     Arrangements have been made with the charities to help people distinguish between the three flag-selling activities.

     Information on the three flag-selling organisations on June 1 is as follows:
 

     For enquiries, please call the SWD's hotline at 2343 2255, or the designated hotline of the 1823 Call Centre at 3142 2678. Information on flag days is available at the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_whatsnew) and the GovHK portal (www.gov.hk/en/theme/fundraising/search). Permits for flag days containing contact information of the flag-selling organisations and information on the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_controlofc/sub_recentlyap). For enquiries about the detailed flag-selling arrangements, please contact the individual flag-selling organisations.

     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities covered by the Public Subscription Permit issued by the SWD have also been uploaded to the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising).

     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added.

     As the rainstorm warning has been issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and contractors that they should adopt necessary work arrangements and take suitable safety measures to protect the safety of their employees when they are carrying out electrical work or handling electrical plant.

     A spokesman for the LD said today (June 1) that employers and contractors should avoid assigning employees to carry out electrical work (like electric arc welding work) or handle electrical plant at places affected by rainstorms, and should refer to the "Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms" and the "Guide on Safety at Work in times of Inclement Weather" issued by the LD.

     Even if electrical work is carried out or electrical plant is handled at places not affected by the rainstorm, suitable safety measures must still be adopted to prevent electric shock as the air would be more humid. Such measures include:

(i) Ensure that all live parts of an electrical installation are isolated from the power supply source and rendered dead, and the isolation from the power supply source must be maintained as long as electrical work is being carried out;

(ii) Before carrying out any electrical work or handling any electrical plant, cut off and lock out the power supply source, then test the circuit concerned to confirm it is dead and display suitable warning notices, and issue a work permit thereafter;

(iii) Ensure that protective devices (such as suitable and adequate fuses and circuit breakers) for the electrical installations or electrical plant have been installed and maintained in good working order, and portable electric tools must be double-insulated or properly earthed;

(iv) Provide suitable personal protective equipment such as insulating gloves and insulating mats for employees; and

(v) If live electrical work is unavoidable, a comprehensive risk assessment should be conducted by a competent person and the appropriate safety precautions should be taken to remove or properly control the electrical hazards involved before such work can proceed.

     In addition, employees should co-operate with the employer or contractor to follow the safety instructions and use the safety equipment provided.

     The LD has published guidebooks and leaflets on electrical work safety. These safety publications are available free from divisional offices of the department or can be downloaded from its website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/content2_8.htm).

     Should there be any questions about occupational safety and health matters, please contact the Occupational Safety Officer of the LD at 2559 2297.

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     Members of the public are advised to report any street flooding that comes to their notice to the Drainage Services Department by calling the 24-hour drainage hotline on 2300 1110.

     Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, regarding an African Swine Fever laboratory test result at the Central Government Offices yesterday evening (May 31):

Reporter: Professor Chan, can you talk about the number of pigs to be culled at the slaughterhouse? Last time, all the pigs were culled and generate strong opposition. This time, you are going to cull all the pigs again. So have you reach a consensus with the traders? Have you come up with other contingency measures in response to other future incidents? For example, are you going to inspect all the pigs waiting to be culled at the slaughterhouse?

Secretary for Food and Health: This time, we will be culling about 4 700 pigs. Actually, since the last incident of African Swine Fever (SWF), we have enhanced our surveillance at the boundary. For example, at the Man Kam To Checkpoint, we actually check all the pigs before coming in. Also, when pig trucks arriving at the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse, our veterinarians will check all the pigs before they go into the slaughterhouse. As you may all know, ASF has an incubation period of four to 19 days, so there is a possibility that some of the symptoms may not have exhibited even upon checking.

Reporter: Have you reached a consensus with the traders?

Secretary for Food and Health: As I have said earlier, the culling of pigs after we have found a positive sample of SWF is an international practice. We have tried, even last time, to explain to the traders that it is the measure to protect everybody, and that it is an international practice. It is not a matter of consensus. It is a matter of following international practice. It is to protect the public and ensure that we should have the supply of pork as soon as possible and that the disease does not transmit to the local community.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Hospital Authority today (May 31) announces a blood reagent product recall incident:
 
     Hospital Authority (HA) received notification from the Department of Health that a medical device manufacturer Bio-Rad has recalled two batches of blood reagent. It is suspected that the two batches of blood reagent may give false negative result of anti-Mia antibodies during red blood cell antibodies screening.
 
     HA has informed the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service and all hospital blood banks to suspend using the concerned reagent, as well as to trace the location of the potential affected blood products. As the BTS also provides blood products to private hospitals, HA will liaise closely with the Department of Health and private hospitals to follow up.
 
     In general, patient may not necessarily have adverse transfusion effect after receiving the potential affected blood product. HA will investigate if any patients have received the potential affected blood product and their conditions will be closely monitored.
 
     The information of the two batches of blood reagent are as follows:

Bio-Rad
ID-DiaCell I-II-III Asia
ID number: 45330
Reference number: 003614
IHD Batch numbers: 45330 52 1 and 45330 52 2
SAP Batch numbers: 375053521 and 378425522