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As the Landslip Warning has been cancelled, the Home Affairs Department’s Emergency Co-ordination Centre and the emergency hotline 2572 8427 have ceased to operate. read more
The Government today (May 13) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” (declaration) effective from 3.30pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Kwai Chung (i.e. Tak Yam House, On Yam Estate, Kwai Chung, excluding kindergarten and social service units on G/F, see Annex) are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. Persons subject to compulsory testing are required to stay in their premises until all such persons identified in the “restricted area” have undergone testing and the test results are mostly ascertained. The Government aims at finishing this exercise at about 11am tomorrow (May 14). The operation may be extended depending on test results.
A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. Having reviewed a basket of factors, including the viral load in sewage, the information of relevant positive cases, and other circumstantial factors, and conducted a risk assessment, the Government decided to make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’ for the relevant area.”
The Government will set up temporary specimen collection stations at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 9pm today. Arrangements will be made for persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo a nucleic acid test at specimen collection stations where dedicated staff will collect samples through combined nasal and throat swabs. Persons subject to compulsory testing must stay at their place of residence until all test results are ascertained to avoid cross-infection risk. The Government will make arrangement to facilitate specimen collection for people with impaired mobility. All persons in the “restricted area” who have tested positive in the past 14 days, including positive cases identified either by nucleic acid tests recorded by the Department of Health (DH) or by rapid antigen tests that have been self-declared to the DH, will not be required to undergo testing in this compulsory testing exercise.
The Government spokesman said, “We understand that this exercise will cause inconvenience to the public. The Government has made arrangements to carry out testing for all persons present in the ‘restricted area’ as soon as possible. The aim is to strive to complete testing of all identified persons subject to compulsory testing and confirm the results, and finish the exercise at about 11am tomorrow. The Government will make a public announcement when the declaration expires officially. In the cases in which employees are unable to go to work because of the declaration, the Government hopes their employers can exercise discretion and will not deduct the salaries or benefits of the employees.”
If staying in the “restricted area” will cause unreasonable hardship to individuals who are not residents in the area when the declaration takes effect, government officers may exercise discretion and allow that person to leave the area after considering the individual circumstances. That person must have followed the instructions to undergo testing and leave his/her personal information for contact purposes.
According to the compulsory testing notice to be issued today, any persons other than those specified above who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from May 7 to May 13, 2022, even if they were not present in the “restricted area” at the time when the declaration took effect, must undergo compulsory testing on or before May 15, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, for prudence’s sake, vaccinated persons and persons who have recently been tested are also required to undergo testing.
For the 2022 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) candidates who are within the “restricted area” and need to sit the HKDSE on the following day, or examination personnel who need to take up invigilation duties for HKDSE on the following day, the Government appeals to them to go to the temporary specimen collection stations setup within the “restricted area” before 8pm today and present to the prescribed officer the relevant documents (including the identification documents and HKDSE admission forms, or a certification letter issued by the school of the examination personnel) proving their identities. These HKDSE candidates and examination personnel will be given priority testing with a view to enabling them to obtain test results on the following day as early as possible. The priority testing arrangement also applies to the family members who live together with these HKDSE candidates and examination personnel, so as to identify those HKDSE candidates and examination personnel who have become close contacts of confirmed cases for making quarantine arrangement.
If any HKDSE candidate or examination personnel needs to leave the “restricted area” for the examination centre before the declaration is revoked, he/she can make a request to the prescribed officers within the “restricted area”. The prescribed officer may allow the candidate or the examination personnel to leave the “restricted area” after verifying his/her testing result(s) and recording the relevant information. For the safety of all candidates and examination personnel, only those candidates and examination personnel who have obtained negative test results will be allowed to enter the examination hall. For details, please read the relevant information issued by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority earlier www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/PPT_2022DSE_compulsory_testing_arrangements_eng.pdf.
The Government has set up a hotline (Tel: 9577 4556) which started operation at 3.30pm today for residents restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance. The Social Welfare Department will also provide assistance to the affected persons.
The Government appeals to persons subject to compulsory testing for their full co-operation by registering and undergoing testing, and waiting for the results patiently at home. The Government will strictly follow up on whether the persons concerned have complied with the compulsory testing notices and “restriction-testing declaration”. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notices commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $10,000. The person would also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the compulsory testing order or the “restriction-testing declaration” is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more
The Film Programmes Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present the film lecture series “Genius of the System: When Art and Commerce Converge on Film” curated by veteran film researcher Sam Ho in collaboration with various film critics as speakers from June to February next year. The lecture series is one of the programmes to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Hong Kong City Hall.
Speakers of nine lectures in three phases will review the development of the Hollywood film industry in its golden age, stretching from the 1920s through the 1950s, in which the interplay of art and industry produced many great examples of cinematic works. In Phases 1 and 2, the industrial structure and the auteur directors of this era will be covered. The last phase will correlate the Hollywood system with the development of the Hong Kong film industry during its golden periods of the 1950s and the 1980s.
Details of the lectures in Phase 1 are as follows:
Lecture 1
Topic: What’s the Deal with Hollywood?
Date: June 5 (Sunday)
Time: 1.45pm
Speakers: Joyce Yang (Hong Kong Film Critics Society member), Sam Ho (curator, film researcher)
Content: An introduction to the Hollywood business environment stretching from the 1920s through the 1950s, and how great cinematic art was realised in an industrial structure established for business.
Lecture 2
Topic: What’s so Genius about the System?
Date: July 23 (Saturday)
Time: 4.30pm
Speakers: Ka Ming (film critic), Sam Ho (curator, film researcher)
Content: An analysis of how the business-oriented Hollywood system enabled great art during that era.
Lecture 3
Topic: The Studios
Date: August 6 (Saturday)
Time: 4pm
Speaker: Sam Ho (curator, film researcher)
Content: A look into various Hollywood studios coexisting together, in competition and in collaboration, which allowed artists of every level to thrive and gave birth to the “golden age”.
All lectures will be conducted in Cantonese and will take place at the Recital Hall, Hong Kong City Hall (8/F, High Block). Each lecture will last for about 90 minutes. Tickets priced at $80 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For ticketing enquiries, please call 3761 6661. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp. (Details of Phases 2 and 3 will be announced in due course.)
In order to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, all persons are required to scan the “LeaveHomeSafe” venue QR code with their mobile phones/other mobile devices before being allowed to enter Hong Kong City Hall for necessary contact tracing if a confirmed case is found. In accordance with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599L) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, all persons entering indoor venues under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department must comply with the relevant requirement of the Vaccine Pass. read more
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will present the “Our Music Talents Series: Vocal Recital by Michael C T Lam” concert in June. Local baritone Michael C T Lam will collaborate with young pianist Anna Vienna Ho to let audiences enjoy a night of sentimental melody through classical works by renowned composers.
The programme of the concert will include Mozart’s “Hai già vinta la causa (from Le Nozze di Figaro)”, Schubert’s “Wandrers Nachtlied II, D. 768”, Wagner’s “O du mein holder Abendstern (from Tannhäuser)” and Ravel’s “Don Quichotte à Dulcinée”, as well as the premiere of Ho’s “Li Bai, Wine and the Moon”. The concert also marks the opening of this year’s “Our Music Talents Series”.
Having graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Lam earned a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the United Kingdom, and was trained in the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Hungary. He was a first prize winner in many local and overseas singing competitions, including the First Prize in the 2nd Hong Kong International Music Festival Competition – Vocal Division (Senior), the First Prize in the International Music Competition ‘London’ Grand Prize Virtuoso (vocal competition), as well as the Philip Bates Trust Ashleyan Opera Prize.
Lam has performed in many major theatres and played more than 30 operatic roles, including Tonio in “Pagliacci”, Macbeth in “Macbeth”, Escamillo in “Carmen” and Don Alfonso in “Così Fan Tutte”. Apart from performing in operas, he has also collaborated with many choirs and gives solo recitals in a number of concerts, receiving high praise for his excellent performances.
“Our Music Talents Series: Vocal Recital by Michael C T Lam” will be staged at 8pm on June 15 (Wednesday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $160 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. Package discounts will be available for the “City Hall Virtuosi Series” and “Our Music Talents Series” held from May to August. For discount schemes and programme enquiries, please call 2268 7239 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1315.html.
Other highlights of the “Our Music Talents Series” include the concert “Cong Quartet” to be held on June 26 (Sunday) and the “Piano Recital by Wong Sze-yuen” to be staged on August 10 (Wednesday). For details please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/groups_1317.html.
In order to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, visitors are required to scan the “LeaveHomeSafe” QR code before being allowed to enter the performing arts venues managed by the LCSD for necessary contact tracing if a confirmed case is found. In accordance with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599L) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, all persons entering indoor venues under the management of the LCSD must comply with the requirement of the Vaccine Pass. read more
The Government announced today (May 13) an extension of the term of appointment of the incumbent Chairman and 17 non-official members, and the appointment of two non-official members through Phase IV of the Member Self-rec… read more