Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, at a media session this afternoon (September 2):

Reporter: About the dining ban, I would like to ask why are you not lifting the ban completely? Because by 10pm the busiest dinner hour will be over. And what's the point of having a ban after 10pm? Secondly, we can see that some venues are being reopened, but some, for example like the game arcade, are still being forced to close, so why are they excluded from the reopening plans? Because, for example, the game arcade seems less risky. Finally, about the two-person limit on public gatherings, you said that you cannot relax all restrictions at the same time, but wouldn't it seem a bit difficult to enforce the law when there are so many people on the street? Although they are not together, when adding up, it's a lot more than two people. So what's the point of keeping the two-person-gathering ban? Thank you.

Secretary for Food and Health: Thank you for your questions. First of all, regarding lifting, we have always been using the "suppress and lift" strategy in our epidemic control while this third wave of epidemic has been subsiding and also becoming a little bit more stable right now. We still have some cases with unknown sources and also there could be some changes and we have to observe very closely. While we have started some lifting strategy, it is important for us to also balance the infection control measures, the public health interventions and also people's mental health as well as people's expectations and also the overall economic situation in Hong Kong. So after careful consideration, we have decided to slowly and gradually relax some of the current measures. There are a number of factors that we consider in terms of which are the ones we are going to open and whether some of the conditions that we put in are more stringent or less stringent. First of all, I think it is obviously the necessity, for example, eating or dining out is more or less a necessity for people. Why we have extended one hour, it's because many citizens told us that sometimes it seems that it's a bit rushed having dinner because Hong Kong people tend to work late, so slightly extending one hour would hopefully serve the purpose. The catering business has also made this suggestion as well. So this time after our careful consideration, we think this is doable.

      Secondly, we have chosen to open some of the schedule premises. Those premises that we have opened are largely sport premises. Because we know that actually many people would like to do some exercises and some sports in the midst of the epidemic which have lasted for about eight months, people are tired and fatigued. So doing some exercises can also bring about physical as well as mental health. We felt that this is something that would have some priorities.

      Third, regarding Cap. 599G, as I have already said earlier, while selecting or considering which are the premises or the measures that we are relaxing, we have to consider not only the epidemic situation, the number of confirmed cases, but we are also looking at multiple factors, including the mobility of people. While this virus is quite virulent and we understand that the infectivity is high and the transmissibility is high. So in relaxing any measures, we have to be very careful. Not only are we careful in relaxing the number of people, we also appeal to the public that it is important for them to keep vigilant in terms of mask wearing and also personal and environmental hygiene. But of course, to give some hope to the public, we feel that it is important given this epidemic situation not only happen in Hong Kong but globally it is a pandemic. So this is going to be a long battle that we are going to fight together, not only the Government, but also with the people in Hong Kong. So we felt that we need to have some gradual, slow relaxations and at the same time be very vigilant and also keep tracking the entire situation. And more importantly, that's why we appeal to the people of Hong Kong to participate in this universal community testing. Given this opportunity and the support and assistance provided by the Central People's Government to us that we can have this big scale of testing in a very short time. So then we can identify the silent carriers in the community so that we can hopefully cut the transmission chain effectively once and for all. But of course we understand that even after we have found out the confirmed cases from the universal community testing, people still need to continue their vigilance in terms of mask wearing, keeping social distancing as well as personal and environmental hygiene. So I think this is the thoughts that we have, we would have to find a way to enter into this new normal. It is important for us to know the infectivity situation in the community, because we would expect there will be sporadic cases given the global pandemic.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at 9am today (September 2), 21 COVID-19 confirmed patients were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 4 401 patients with confirmed or probable infection have been discharged.
 
     At present, there are 677 negative pressure rooms in public hospitals with 1 209 negative pressure beds activated. A total of 302 confirmed patients are currently hospitalised in 19 public hospitals and a community treatment facility, among which 25 patients are in critical condition, 26 are in serious condition and the remaining 251 patients are in stable condition.
 
     An 87-year-old male patient (case number: 4829) passed away upon arrival at Kwong Wah Hospital on August 27. The deceased patient was confirmed with COVID-19 infection during an autopsy conducted by the Department of Health. Including this case, a total of 93 COVID-19 confirmed patients have passed away in public hospitals so far.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner. 
 
     Details of the above-mentioned patients are as follows:
 

     With support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) and Create Hong Kong, Hong Kong action movies are in the spotlight at the 17th edition of the Salento International Film Festival taking place in Tricase in the Salento peninsula of southern Italy from September 1 to 6 (Tricase time).

     The Salento International Film Festival is a major international film festival in the south of Italy. This year, kung fu fighters and action movies are providing excitement in the Festival's "Hong Kong Cinema" programme, which comprises Yuen Woo-ping's "Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy", Wilson Yip's "Ip Man 4: The Finale" and Danny Pang and Oxide Pang's "Out of Inferno".

     Speaking before the screening of "Ip Man 4: The Finale" in the evening of September 1, the Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Miss Fiona Chau, thanked the organiser for its efforts in bringing Hong Kong films to Italian audiences amid the challenging circumstances this year.

     Miss Chau pointed out that Hong Kong is a diverse, multifaceted and vibrant city, where East meets West and traditional culture blends well with modern concepts. Hong Kong also takes pride in itself as a creative hub and its movies have been serving as a brilliant cultural ambassador. Miss Chau added that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government strives to ensure that the right environment is in place in the city for creative industries to flourish. As always, freedom of speech and the free flow of information, ideas and talent are among Hong Kong's core values and are guaranteed by the Basic Law.

     The HKSAR Government is supporting the Hong Kong film industry to get through a difficult period this year. It has earmarked around 29 million Euros (around HK$260 million) under the Film Development Fund to help increase the number of local film productions, nurture young directors and scriptwriting talents and enhance professional training to add value to the industry.

     Miss Chau also seized the opportunity of her visit to Tricase to speak at a business seminar, also held on September 1, to promote Hong Kong's strong fundamentals and unique advantages to act as the gateway for Italian companies to enter the Mainland and Asian markets.

    

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (September 1) mounted an operation in connection with a case in which surgical masks suspected of bearing a false origin claim were supplied to the Government Logistics Department (GLD). A supplier involved in the case and the director of a logistics company were arrested for contravening the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). According to the information provided by the GLD, the 32 million masks involved in the case are being kept in the GLD's stock and have not been allocated to any government departments for use. Customs will maintain close ties with the GLD to seize the masks involved for further investigation.
 
     The GLD had earlier procured the surgical masks involved from the local trading supplier involved in the case, who claimed the masks it supplied originated from Japan. However, the department later suspected that not all of the masks originated from Japan and therefore lodged a complaint to Customs on August 31.
 
     Customs immediately launched an investigation and discovered that the surgical masks involved were supplied to the GLD by a local trading company through a logistics company. The surgical masks were packed in paper boxes or plastic bags with 50 pieces in each box or bag. The information of a Japanese manufacturer was provided on the packaging and the place of origin shown was Japan. Preliminary investigation revealed that most of the surgical masks were not manufactured in Japan, which was different from what had been declared.
 
     Customs officers then mounted an operation yesterday and searched two offices of the trading company involved in Cheung Sha Wan and Kwai Chung. A 39-year-old male director of the trading company was arrested. Investigation revealed that the trading company involved jointly occupied the office in Kwai Chung with a logistics company. Customs officers yesterday also arrested a 47-year-old female director of the logistics company at that office. They have been released on bail pending further investigation. Customs has seized four computers for further investigation during the operation.
 
     Moreover, samples of the masks involved in the case have been sent to a laboratory for tests on the bacterial count.
 
     Investigation is ongoing and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
 
     Customs has conducted a large-scale territory-wide special operation codenamed "Guardian" since January 27 this year to conduct spot checks and enforcement operations on common protective items. More than 5 800 officers have been mobilised to conduct over 37 000 inspections at retail spots. Investigations have been conducted against 13 cases of suspected violations of the TDO and 13 cases of suspected violations of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance (CGSO). Sixty-nine persons have been arrested so far and goods suspected of violating the law including nearly 3.725 million surgical masks, 306 bottles of disinfectant alcohol and 23 bottles of normal saline have been seized.
 
     The "Guardian" operation will continue and Customs will carry on its high-profile law enforcement to tie in with the compliance promotion outreach programme in order to combat and prevent violation of relevant ordinances.
 
     Members of the public may report any suspected violation of the TDO or the CGSO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). 

    

     Excel Engineering Company Limited and Excellence Construction Engineering (HK) Limited were fined $17,000 and $52,000 respectively at Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (September 2) for violation of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear) Regulations. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department.
      
     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on August 31, 2017, at a waterworks site in Piper's Hill. While a lorry-mounted crane was lifting an excavator, the crane suddenly overturned, causing another excavator that had been stowed on its deck to fall over. The crane operator died after being struck by the falling excavator.