The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesman for Kowloon Hospital made the following announcement today (April 20): A 68-year-old medical extended… read more
The Task Force of Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong. In addition to road transport arrangements, transportation of goods by water and railway is already in service.
A spokesperson for the THB said that the “Sea Express” water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials. The current supply of fresh food from the Mainland is stable.
Currently, there are three water transportation routes between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, namely (1) from Shenzhen Yantian International Container Terminals to Hong Kong Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (KTCT); (2) from Shenzhen DaChan Bay Terminals to KTCT; and (3) from China Merchants Port (South China) Management Center (Shenzhen Mawan, Shekou and Chiwan Container Terminals) to Hong Kong River Trade Terminal and elsewhere. Together with the water transportation routes from other cities in Guangdong Province, including the routes from Guangzhou Lianhuashan Port, Nansha Port, Huadu Port, Zhongshan Huangpu Port and Zhuhai Doumen Port to different terminals in Hong Kong, the water transport capacity amounts to tens of thousands of tonnes daily.
The spokesperson said today (April 20) that Shenzhen operated 53 cargo vessel trips and transported around 6 630 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (April 19), equivalent to about 24 630 tonnes of goods, of which around 30 TEUs (about 220 tonnes) were fresh food and around 6 600 TEUs (about 24 410 tonnes) were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 215 460 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 1 199 880 tonnes of goods, of which around 1 410 TEUs (about 12 250 tonnes) were fresh food and around 214 050 TEUs (about 1 187 630 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
As for rail cargo, mainly anti-epidemic supplies are being transported at the moment. Four TEUs with a total of 12 tonnes of goods were transported to Hong Kong yesterday. Since its launch on March 2 and up to yesterday, more than 1 470 tonnes of goods including anti-epidemic supplies such as COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits and protective gowns were transported to Hong Kong.
To further ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong through land transport, a trial run of cargo transfer was conducted by the THB at a yard situated on Kam Pok Road, San Tin, Yuen Long, and it was completed smoothly. The THB will continue to work with the Mainland authorities to fully take forward cargo transfer arrangements on the Hong Kong side. It is a contingency measure in response to the latest epidemic situation in the city so as to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong, ensuring both smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department (TD) has arranged for dedicated staff to conduct rapid antigen tests (RATs) for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points (BCPs) from February 28 onwards. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. In order to further improve the accuracy of the tests, the TD has already replaced the RATs with rapid nucleic acid tests at the BCPs. A total of 2 388 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday in which six drivers preliminarily tested positive. The TD has passed the cases to the Department of Health for follow-up.
The THB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, with a view to complementing the supply through road, water and railway transport, enhancing capacity and efficiency as well as optimising the flow of cross-boundary supplies. read more
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (April 20) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan about an outbreak of highl… read more
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has all along been committed to combating the sale of chilled or frozen meat disguised as fresh meat, and raided a licensed fresh provision shop (FPS) in Yuen Long District suspected of selling chilled meat or frozen meat as fresh meat in a blitz operation today (April 20).
​ During the operation, FEHD officers raided a licensed FPS in Tin Shui Market, and marked and sealed over 310 kilograms of suspected chilled meat and frozen meat for further investigation. A beef sample was also collected for testing for preservatives and prosecution will be taken out if sufficient evidence is collected. The licensee of the FPS is suspected of breaching the licensing condition for the display and sale of chilled meat or frozen meat as fresh meat, and the FEHD is proceeding with the cancellation of the FPS’s licence.
​ FEHD officers also initiated two prosecutions against the operator of the FPS for dirtiness at the premises and unauthorised alteration or addition to the approved plan of the premises. In addition, verbal warnings were also given to the operator of the FPS for non-compliance with relevant licensing conditions by selling meat balls without permission and being unable to provide delivery notes for inspection.
​ An FEHD spokesman said, “Selling of chilled or frozen meat disguised as fresh meat breaches the licensing condition and causes food safety problems. Also, the operation of these profiteers is unfair to other shops that comply with the requirements.”
　
​ The spokesman added, “Anyone selling chilled meat or frozen meat without permission commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and six months’ imprisonment on conviction. The department will continue to conduct regular inspections at FPSs and market meat stalls, and will actively handle the complaints received. In detecting any irregularities, the FEHD will carry out immediate investigations and take appropriate enforcement action. In addition, the FEHD also proactively investigates suspected violations from time to time and conducts surprise inspections and enforcement action as necessary. If there is sufficient evidence, prosecutions will be initiated and follow-up action will be taken on the breach of licensing conditions or tenancy agreements. The licences of fresh provision shops breaching the licensing conditions may be cancelled, while the tenancies of market meat stalls breaching the tenancy agreements may be terminated.”
​ The spokesman stressed that the FEHD is very concerned and has been committed to combating the sale of chilled or frozen meat disguised as fresh meat by taking stringent enforcement actions against the violations.
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) announced today (April 20) that with a view to resuming public services under the COVID-19 infection control measures in place, the H2OPE Centre (Water Resources Public Education Centre)… read more