The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (March 18) investigating an outbreak of upper respiratory tract infection (URI) at a special school in Yuen Long, and appealed to members of the public and staff of institutions to stay alert and maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene.

     The outbreak affected five male students and 10 female students aged 6 to 19, as well as eight female staff members, who have developed URI symptoms including runny nose, cough and sore throat since March 8. Nineteen of them sought medical attention and none required hospitalisation. All patients are now in stable condition.
 
     Officers of the CHP have conducted a site visit and advised the school to adopt necessary infection control measures against respiratory tract infections. The centre has been placed under medical surveillance.
 
     The public should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene against influenza and other respiratory illnesses:
 

• Receive seasonal influenza vaccination for personal protection;
• Wash hands with liquid soap and water properly whenever possibly contaminated;
• When hands are not visibly soiled, clean them with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub;
• Cover the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards;
• Dispose of soiled tissue paper properly in a lidded rubbish bin;
• Put on a surgical mask when respiratory symptoms develop;
• Maintain good indoor ventilation;
• Avoid going to crowded or poorly ventilated public places; high-risk individuals may consider putting on surgical masks when staying in such places; and
• Maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly, take adequate rest, do not smoke and avoid overstress.

     Members of the public, particularly children, the elderly and those with chronic diseases, should wear a face mask and consult a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of respiratory tract infection.

     A girl who went missing in Aberdeen has been located.

     Ng Wa-sin, aged 14, went missing after she left a hostel on Nam Long Shan Road on August 20, 2018. Her family made a report to Police on August 22 last year.

     Police located the girl on Hong Ning Road, Sau Mau Ping this afternoon (March 18).
     

     With a view to improving user-friendliness and facilitating information retrieval, the Town Planning Board today (March 18) promulgated a revised set of application forms and Guidance Notes for applications submitted under section 12A and section 16 of the Town Planning Ordinance. The revised application forms and Guidance Notes will be made available for use from April 1.

     The existing five sets of section 16 application forms are consolidated into three sets: (a) Form No. S16-I for general development proposals other than those covered by Forms No. S16-II and No. S16-III; (b) Form No. S16-II for proposals involving construction of "New Territories Exempted House"; and (c) Form No. S16-III for proposals involving temporary use/development of land and/or building not exceeding three years in rural areas and renewal of such temporary approvals.

     The major revisions made to the section 12A and section 16 application forms include the use of checkboxes for selection of options, standardising date input, simplifying the input for "Owner's Consent/Notification", revising the declaration statement on uploading the application materials to the Board's website, and providing a new "Gist of Application" to facilitate publication of an application.

     Opportunity is also taken to revise the Guidance Notes of Applications with more detailed explanations on the submission requirements. Corresponding amendments will be made to the Town Planning Board Guidelines No. 34B, and the electronic versions of the application forms and Guidance Notes.

     The paper copies of the revised application forms will be launched for use on April 1, while the revised electronic versions will be launched later when they are ready. A grace period of six months from April 1 will be given, under which applications using the existing application forms will still be acceptable within the transitional period.

     The revised application forms, Guidance Notes and Town Planning Board Guidelines No. 34C will be made available from April 1 at the Secretariat of the Board at 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong (tel: 2231 4810 or 2231 4835); the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb); and at the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin.

     In response to media enquiries on the use of swimming lanes in public swimming pools under priority allocation by the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association (HKASA) and its three affiliated clubs, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) today (March 18) released the results of the department's investigation and examination report.

     After investigating and examining the information and reports submitted by the HKASA and its three affiliated clubs, the LCSD found no substantive evidence suggesting that the three swimming clubs had transferred the swimming lanes or used the swimming lanes allocated by priority for profit-making purposes.

     However, the department has found room for improvement in various aspects taking into consideration the above investigation and examination, and after revisiting the Central Lane Allocation System (CLAS). 

     A spokesman for the LCSD said the department would implement improvement and enhancement measures in a number of areas based on the findings of the investigation and examination. These include strengthening the requirements and enhancing the declaration system to ensure that the swimming lanes allocated under CLAS will be used for organising non-profit-making activities by non-profit-making organisations; improving the appointment of agents by and financial arrangements of various major national sports associations (NSAs)/sports clubs and their affiliated clubs; demanding NSAs/sports clubs to establish a fair, impartial and open internal system for the allocation of swimming lanes, including enhancing the mechanism of interest declaration and avoidance of conflicts of interest, increasing transparency, and establishing an appeal mechanism; and reinforcing the monitoring role of NSAs/sports clubs as well as establishing/enhancing the monitoring mechanism and non-compliance penalty system. In addition, the LCSD will review and enhance the CLAS regularly, and revise the booking arrangement of public swimming pools and the relevant guidelines to further set out the requirements clearly. 

     Apart from the CLAS, the LCSD has also reviewed the booking mechanism through the Booking Procedure for Use of Public Swimming Pools and extended relevant improvement and enhancement measures to the booking of swimming lanes through such procedures, the spokesman added.

     The investigation and examination report has been uploaded to the department's website (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/aboutlcsd/ppr/investigation/Swimming_Lanes_Report_en.pdf).

     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 March 18) 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.