The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) today (February 10) learned that an outsourced maintenance staff member has preliminarily tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

     The staff member mainly worked at the Facilities Building of the CAD Headquarters and performed support duties without contact with members of the public at work. He was notified of having preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19 today. He last performed his duties on February 4. 

     The staff member has no recent travel history. He has been wearing surgical masks when performing duties and has properly maintained social distancing with people he has had contact with. His body temperature was normal when undergoing temperature screening during work.

     The CAD has liaised with the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and arranged for all staff working on the same floor to undergo COVID-19 testing. Arrangements have also been made for the working places concerned to undergo thorough cleaning and sterilisation. Colleagues working with the staff member are asymptomatic and the CAD will continue to co-operate with the CHP to conduct epidemiological investigation.

     The CAD is concerned about the COVID-19 epidemic. All officers have been highly vigilant since the epidemic broke out. Relevant hygiene guidelines for combating infectious diseases provided by the CHP have been strictly adopted. 

     The department will continue to step up the cleaning and sterilising measures for all working locations and remind all officers to strictly comply with the CHP's hygiene guidelines relating to infectious diseases. The officers will also be reminded to consult a doctor promptly if they have any symptoms of illness.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     As the COVID-19 epidemic remains severe, the meetings of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and its committees will be conducted remotely from today to February 18. Members of the public can watch or listen to the meetings via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Archives of all open virtual meetings will also be available for public access via the system.

     Meanwhile, The Legislative Council Commission agreed the work from home arrangement for the staff of the LegCo Secretariat (Secretariat) to be extended to February 18, except those who are responsible for servicing the meetings of the LegCo and its committees and maintaining basic operation of the Secretariat, as well as those performing on-site duties. Counter services of the Public Complaints Office (PCO) at the LegCo Complex will continue to be suspended during the same period. On-site services of the LegCo Library and Archives (Library and Archives) will also be suspended. The telephone enquiry services for the PCO, Library and Archives will be provided from 10am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

     For the latest details of meetings, as well as details of the epidemic preventive measures and special arrangements implemented by the Secretariat, please refer to the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). 

     The Secretariat will review the aforementioned measures in accordance with the development of the epidemic and make further announcements in due course.

​     The Government yesterday (February 9) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a "restriction-testing declaration" effective from 2pm yesterday, under which people (hereafter referred to as "persons subject to compulsory testing") within the specified "restricted area" in Tin Shui Wai (i.e. Shing Yin House, Tin Shing Court, Tin Shui Wai) were 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.
 
     In addition, the Government issued a compulsory testing notice yesterday to any person who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from January 27 to February 9, 2022, to undergo compulsory testing on or before February 11, 2022, even if they were not present in the "restricted area" at the time when the declaration took effect. The Government finished the compulsory testing exercise at around 3.15pm today (February 10) and is now carrying out enforcement actions in the "restricted area" to verify that all people in the "restricted area" have undergone compulsory testing. The Government will further announce the revocation time of the declaration.
 
     Starting from around 3.15pm today, persons in the specified "restricted area" in Tin Shui Wai who have undergone testing and are able to present SMS notifications with negative test results or wear wristbands as proof of having undergone testing may leave the "restricted area" through the designated exit after providing personal information to a prescribed officer.
 
     The Government set up temporary specimen collection stations in the "restricted area" yesterday and requested persons subject to compulsory testing to collect combined nasal and throat swab samples at the stations to undergo a COVID-19 virus test before 10pm yesterday. Around 1 780 people within the area had undergone testing, among which 10 cases tested preliminarily positive and four samples need to be re-tested. The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health will arrange to follow up.
 
     Moreover, the Government also assigned staff to visit around 640 households within the "restricted area", among which around 40 households did not answer the door. The Government will take measures to follow up.
 
     The Government reiterates that enforcement actions will be taken seriously. Any person who fails to present an SMS notification with a test result or wear a wristband as proof of having undergone testing breaches the compulsory testing notice and may be liable to a fine of $10,000. The person will also be issued with a compulsory testing order, requiring him/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 may be liable to a fine of level 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months.

  

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, February 10, 2022 is 95.2 (down 0.1 against yesterday's index).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:

     In response to the Government's announcement that special work arrangements for government employees will be extended to significantly reduce the flow of people and social contact in the community so as to curb further spreading of the virus in the community, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today (February 10) that the following arrangements will continue to be implemented to provide emergency and essential services for the public until further notice:

• All Estate Management Offices (EMOs) of public housing estates will be open from 10am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to provide limited management services for public housing estates and handle cases with prior appointments. For enquiries and assistance outside the opening hours, residents may call the contact telephone numbers provided by the respective EMOs, and staff will render assistance as much as practicable. The EMOs' shroff offices will be closed. Tenants can pay rent at more than 1 000 locations, such as designated convenience stores and supermarkets. They may also make payments via the Payment by Phone Service. For details, please browse the following website: www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/public-housing/rent-related-matters/rent-payment-methods/index.html;

• The following subsidised housing offices will be open from 10am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to provide limited services:

(1) The White Form Secondary Market Scheme Unit at the HA Customer Service Centre (HACSC) in Lok Fu; and
(2) The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Secondary Market Scheme Unit at Lung Cheung Office Block in Wong Tai Sin;

• The Home Assistance Loan Unit (HALU) at Lung Cheung Office Block in Wong Tai Sin will provide drop-in boxes to receive submissions in relation to matters under the Home Assistance Loan Scheme and the Home Purchase Loan Scheme. Applicants can place their submissions in the drop-in box located at the HALU from 10am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The HALU will issue receipts/acknowledgements of the submissions and take follow-up action in due course;

• The HOS Sales Unit at the HACSC in Lok Fu, the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme Sales Unit at Pioneer Place in Kwun Tong and other offices of related services will only be open to applicants/members of the public with prior appointments. For enquiries, please contact the HA Sales Hotline on 2712 8000 or the telephone numbers of the office of the service concerned;

• The Public Rental Housing (PRH) Application Office at the HACSC in Lok Fu will be open from 8am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to provide services in relation to matters involving PRH applications. Detailed vetting interviews with prior appointments will proceed as scheduled;

• The Clearance Housing office and Redevelopment Sub-section offices (Pak Tin and Shek Lei Interim Housing) will be open from 10am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to provide services in relation to matters involving clearance housing or redevelopment; and

• The Shroff Office on the ground floor of the HA Headquarters will be open from 2pm to 4.30pm from Monday to Friday. All payment collection services (including premium payments by Subsidised Sale Flats Scheme owners to enable them to complete transactions of their flats), with the exception of rental payment collection, will be in operation.

     In addition, due to the above work arrangements, the HA may not be able to reply to public enquiries, requests or complaints in a timely manner. For enquiries, please call the HA hotline on 2712 2712.