The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:

     Attention TV and radio duty announcers. Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals:

     Members of the public are urged not to go to the media centre of the 2021 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, as the public gallery has reached full capacity.

     Information about the election is available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 3904 0288.

     The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been implemented for 206 days since February 26, 2021.
 
     So far, about 8 380 100 doses of vaccines have been administered under the Vaccination Programme. Details are as follows:
 

* The numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
 
     In the 24 hours ending at 8pm today (September 19), about 23 500 persons have received vaccination and about 3 200 new vaccination bookings have been made online. Details are as follows:
 

* The numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
 
     In the 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were four cases of ambulance transfer to hospital from CVCs. They were sent to hospital after experiencing common side effects after vaccination and were in stable condition. All of them were discharged.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (September 19) issued the following statement after the polls of the 2021 Election Committee (EC) Subsector Ordinary Elections ended at 6pm:

     As the first elections held after the approval by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the amended Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law to improve the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), these elections are particularly meaningful. They mark the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" in the political system of the HKSAR, the safeguarding of sovereignty, security and development interests of the nation, and the steadfast and successful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems".

     The EC is endowed with important functions under the improved electoral system, including nomination and election of the Chief Executive, nomination of candidates for the Legislative Council election and election of 40 Legislative Council members. Made up of 1 500 members from 40 subsectors, the EC is broadly representative and fulfils the principle of balanced participation. Through their election manifestos and interactions with members of the public, they have shown their commitment to society. The voter turnout rate of nearly 90 per cent today also reflected the support for the new electoral system by members of various subsectors.

     I am grateful to the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) and all working staff for acting strictly in accordance with the law in the implementation of every part of the improved electoral system, enabling the conduct of the elections in an open, fair and honest manner. A number of enhancement measures have also been successfully implemented in the elections for the first time, including the Electronic Poll Register System and special queue arrangements, building a good foundation for future elections. 

     The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau will take stock of the experience in implementing various arrangements in the polling stations today for future reference and will continue to work closely with relevant parties such as the EAC and the REO to devise comprehensive and detailed plans for the upcoming Legislative Council General Election and the Chief Executive Election, ensuring that the elections could be conducted properly and smoothly.

The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
 
     Attention TV and radio duty announcers. Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals:
 
     There is only a limited admission quota left for the public gallery in the media centre of the 2021 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.
 
     If the public gallery reaches full capacity, members of the public will not be able to enter the media centre.
 
     Information about the election is available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 3904 0288.

     The Government announced today (September 19) that the Food and Health Bureau is in the process of updating Hong Kong's COVID-19 vaccination records with a view to meeting international travel rules, including the latest requirements on vaccination records by the Government of the United Kingdom (UK).
      
     The Government of the UK announced that, starting from 4am on October 4 (UK time), the rules for international travel to England will change from the red, amber, green three-tier traffic light system to a single red list. Except for those who have residence rights in the UK, people arriving in England who have been to places on the red list in the past 10 days will be denied entry. 
      
     Hong Kong is currently on the green list. Under the revised system, people arriving in England from Hong Kong are required to have completed a vaccination course of a specified COVID-19 vaccine by the relevant health authorities in an approved place at least 14 days prior to arrival, so as to be exempted from quarantine. They also need to get tested on the second day of arrival. Under this newly revised system, the date of birth of the person vaccinated should be shown on the relevant vaccination record. For persons who have not completed vaccination, they will need to undergo self-quarantine for 10 days and get tested on the second and 8th days of arrival.
      
     "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been made aware of the changes in travel rules to England by the UK Government, including the requirement of showing the date of birth on the vaccination records regarding authorised COVID-19 vaccines. The Food and Health Bureau is working out the necessary arrangements to add the information of date of birth to the vaccination records in order to comply with the latest requirements of the UK Government. We will announce the details once the relevant arrangement is in place," a Government spokesman said.