The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (April 11) investigating an influenza B outbreak at a kindergarten in Sha Tin, and again reminded the public to maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene against influenza.

     The outbreak involves 12 boys and nine girls aged 3 to 5 who have developed fever, cough and sore throat since April 1. Nineteen of them sought medical attention. Among them, two required hospitalisation and have been discharged upon treatment. All patients are in a stable condition. The respiratory specimens of two students tested positive for influenza B upon laboratory testing.

     Officers of the CHP have conducted a site visit and advised the school to adopt necessary infection control measures against respiratory tract infections. The school has been placed under medical surveillance.

     A spokesman for the CHP said, "To prevent outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory infections, it is of prime importance that students with fever, regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms, should not be allowed to attend school. They should seek medical advice and avoid school till 48 hours after the fever has subsided. Schools should also measure and record students' body temperature properly."

     Schools 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.

      "Although the winter influenza season has ended, members of the public aged 6 months or above (except those with known contraindications) who have not yet received seasonal influenza vaccination in the 2018-19 season can still receive it for personal protection against seasonal influenza," the spokesman said.

     "Meanwhile, the public should continue to adopt strict personal, hand and environmental hygiene practices against respiratory illnesses and other infectious diseases," the spokesman added.      

     The public may visit the CHP's influenza page and weekly Flu Express for more information.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, at a media session before attending the special meeting of the Legislative Council Finance Committee today (April 11):
 
Reporter: Will the Government stop processing some of these applications while considering whether to lodge an appeal regarding this case (judicial review of the Small House Policy)?
 
Secretary for Development: I think we have said quite clearly that for applications concerning private treaty grant and land exchange, we will not receive further applications and we will also not process further applications during the period when we are considering whether we should lodge an appeal.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Attention TV/radio announcers:

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

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (April 11) that Jockey Club Yan Oi Tong Swimming Pool in Tuen Mun District has been temporarily closed for cleaning and superchlorination following the discovery of a small amount of faeces in the pool.

     It will be reopened at 7.45pm today.

     The department appeals to swimmers to be considerate and to keep the swimming pools clean. They are advised not to swim after a full meal and should use the toilet facilities if necessary before swimming.

     The latest test results of the opening-up investigation in the second stage of the holistic assessment strategy for the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project (as at April 11) are now available at the Highways Department's website for the SCL project (www.hyd.gov.hk/en/road_and_railway/railway_projects/scl/index.html) for reference by the public.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) this afternoon (April 11) to gain a first-hand understanding of the Department’s latest development.
      
     Accompanied by the Director of Architectural Services, Mrs Sylvia Lam, Mr Cheung received a briefing on the Department's contribution to public facilities development, the priority projects and the challenges ahead.
      
     Mr Cheung then observed the design and structure services that the Architectural Branch of the Department provided to the building and landscape projects of Government building, particularly on the use of building information modelling (BIM) in project management.
      
     He was pleased to learn that ArchSD received a Hong Kong BIM Award in 2017 for its outstanding application of BIM in the Kai Tak Refuse Collection Point project.  BIM is the process of generating three-dimensional, digital representation of building data to enhance communication between the architects, engineers and construction partners working on the same project.
      
     He then received an update by the Property Services Branch on providing efficient and cost-effective professional and project management services to buildings and facilities undergoing maintenance and refurbishment works.
      
     Mr Cheung then visited the Project Management Branch where he was briefed on the application of modular integrated construction (MiC) in project construction and the latest progress of the Hospital Development Plan projects. MiC is a construction method under which free-standing volumetric modules are manufactured off-site and then transported for constructing buildings.
      
     Mr Cheung said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government had all along encouraged the construction industry to embrace innovation to increase construction productivity, enhance regulation and quality assurance, improve site safety and reduce environmental impacts. MiC could help achieve these targets since it could enable most labour-intensive and time-consuming construction processes to be completed at off-site prefabrication yards. He anticipated that the technique would be applied widely.
      
     Mr Cheung was also given an introduction on how ArchSD could enhance its operational efficiency by applying smart and innovative technologies in the work process through the development of Corporate Intelligence (CO-i). The core of CO-i development is a big data bank with linkage to various application systems to promote “architectural intelligence”, including integrated project management platform, advanced asset information system integrated with BIM, mobile platform for construction site supervision and work flow digitalisation.
      
     During his dialogue with front-line staff, Mr Cheung commended them for their professionalism. He also encouraged them to continue to apply new technologies and innovative building methods to ensure that the development of community facilities would be of high quality, cost-effective and sustainable.