Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Government’s outreach COVID-19 vaccination team visited Tai O today (October 16) to provide vaccination services to residents, in particular elderly persons, living in relatively remote areas there. A total of 127 elderly and other residents in Tai O took part in a vaccination activity which provided them with one-stop services consisting of a health talk and medical consultation to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines. The outreach team also administered the Sinovac vaccine to them on site.

     Viewing the outreach service and expressing support for the vaccination of elderly persons at Tai O Community Centre, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, said, “We note that there is no clinic providing COVID-19 vaccination services to residents in Tai O and this may cause inconvenience to elderly residents who usually have activities in places close to their homes. The arrival of the outreach team helps to fill a service gap and enables them to get vaccinated in a convenient manner without having to travel to urban areas for vaccinations.
 
     “In fact, the stilt houses, the old temples and the creek in Tai O are tourist spots with high people flows during holidays. For the sake of their own health, elderly residents in Tai O should get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves even though they do not go out very often. Under the threat posed by the highly transmissible mutant strains, elderly persons who are not vaccinated will be subject to the extremely high risk of getting seriously ill and death from COVID-19 infection. Both COVID-19 vaccines available in Hong Kong are safe and highly effective in protecting against severe disease and death from COVID-19 infection.”

     Experts recommend that elderly persons should receive a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible, as long as they are not suffering from acute illnesses. All elderly persons who have previously received influenza vaccines can safely receive COVID-19 vaccines.
 
     Mr Nip also took the opportunity to visit residents in a stilt house. He expressed gratitude to local organisations in Tai O for their promotion of vaccinations in the community, and to the medical team and administrative support staff of the Community Vaccination Centre at Tin Fai Road Sports Centre for providing the outreach service.
 
     Today’s activity was jointly organised by the Islands District Office and the Tai O Rural Committee, and co-organised by the Central, Western, Southern and Islands District Social Welfare Office with the participation of various local organisations.
 
     Meanwhile, a health talk cum COVID-19 vaccination activity for elderly people in Sha Tin District was held at Yuen Chau Kok Community Hall today. An outreach team was on site to administer the Sinovac vaccine to elderly people and other residents. Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council also organised a COVID-19 vaccination day at SKH Holy Carpenter Church Community Centre today for users of the Council’s service units such as district elderly community centres, neighbourhood elderly centres and day care centres for the elderly. Mr Nip was also present at both events to support and encourage elderly persons to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

            

     The latest shipment of about 800 000 doses of the Comirnaty vaccine, manufactured by BioNTech and filled and finished at a plant in Baxter, Germany, arrived in Hong Kong today (October 16) as arranged by Fosun Pharma.   &nbs… read more

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:      Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (October 16) that … read more

     The Award Presentation Ceremony of the first STEM-Up HK Innovation and Technology Competition organised by the Junior Police Call (JPC) was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (October 16). Tie in with the development of STEM education, this competition provides a platform for student engagement in experiential learning as a means of developing skills in problem solving and logical reasoning, as well as inspiring their creative thinking.  In particular, students will put the concept of “Smart City” into practice by proposing innovative and feasible solutions.
 
     The Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee; the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li; the Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, Mr Willy Lin; and the Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association, Mr Yeung Hon-kuen, officiated at the ceremony. Over 90 awardees were presented with 75 awards.
      
     Addressing at the ceremony, Mr Siu said that the JPC has been nurturing youngsters to become future leaders and promoting fight crime messages through diversified activities since its establishment in 1974. A new strategy was launched this year to rebrand and enhance JPC’s image by using “IDEAS” to demonstrate the elements of JPC’s activities, in which “I” stands for Innovation; “D” stands for Discipline; “E” stands for Exposure; “A” stands for Adventure and “S” stands for “Synergy”. The competition is a flagship activity under the element, “Innovation”.
      
     Mr Siu added that the “Chief Executive’s 2021 Policy Address” proposed a number of innovation and technology-related initiatives, including promoting research and development and attracting talents. The National 14th Five-Year Plan also indicated clear support for Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology hub, which fully affirmed the city’s important role in advancing the country’s development in science and technology. The competition aims at unleashing young people’s potential in innovation and technology and nurturing them to become social leaders.
 
     He was pleased to note that among the entries, many of which could adopt the principles of creativity and functional design, with a number of them could even protect the safety of the public and facilitate policing work. He added that the Force has all along been keeping pace with the rapid development of society, and will continue to strive for innovation to enhance its works.

     Echoing the theme, the ceremony today was incorporated with innovation and technology, including the march-in leading by robots and drone performance. In addition, the participants can have an opportunity to experience the fun of technology through taking part in the Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) games and the 5G real-time car racing game on site.
      
     The supporting organisations of the competition included the Education Bureau, the Innovation and Technology Bureau, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association and the Hong Kong Extra-curricular Activities Masters’ Association. An overwhelming response was received, with more than 1,000 students from 160 schools competing in five categories: Junior Primary (Creative Design Drawing), Junior Primary (Creative Proposal), Senior Primary, Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary.  The full list of awardees has been uploaded onto the website of JPC (www.jpc.org.hk/stemup).
 
     Part of the winning entries will be displayed from tomorrow (October 17) until October 29, from 10am to 10pm daily, at the Covered Piazza, Times Square, Causeway Bay. Admission is free. Souvenirs will be distributed on spots. Visitors can also take selfies with thematic displays on site, and participate in mini-quiz games to learn more about the new strategy of the JPC, “IDEAS@JPC”.

          

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:        As at 9am today (October 16), eight COVID-19 confirmed patients (case numbers: 12221, 12222, 12250, 12251, 12252, 12254, 12255, and 12273) were discharg… read more