To identify asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and to cut the transmission chains in the community, the Government today (September 1) launched the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) to provide a one-off free testing service for members of the public at 141 community testing centres. The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, visited the community testing centre at Lai Chi Kok Park Sports Centre this evening to inspect its operation on the first day of the launch of the UCTP and to give encouragement to the staff members.

     Mrs Lam was briefed by a staff member of the community testing centre on its manpower deployment, centre design and workflow. He also shared with her the operational experience of the centre today. She was pleased to note that the centre operated smoothly and conducted tests for more than 1 000 people today, and that all the necessary procedures were completed in accordance with the infection control and social distancing measures implemented at the centre by all the staff and members of the public who underwent tests. Mrs Lam chatted with a member of the public who was satisfied with the arrangement of the programme.

     The healthcare personnel of the testing centre came from the School of Nursing of Tung Wah College and was led by a lecturer of the College, who is also a registered nurse. Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs), Ms Ginny Man who received her at the centre, for the support of TWGHs for the UCTP by arranging healthcare personnel to help with specimen collection for members of the public at two testing centres. Mrs Lam also talked to the healthcare personnel and other staff members of the centre, expressing her appreciation for their participation and dedication and giving encouragement to those who will continue to serve in the following days.

     Mrs Lam said that the Government has decided to increase the test quota for the public to make appointments after reviewing the operation of the programme today. She expressed the hope that members of the public can make good use of the programme and sign up for tests proactively.

     "The UCTP can help us identify asymptomatic patients in the community and curb the epidemic early, thereby enabling the resumption of economic activities and social lives which people have longed for. The testing process is safe, convenient and quick while privacy is protected. I appeal to members of the public to sign up now to protect oneself and others."

     Details of the UCTP are available on the dedicated website www.communitytest.gov.hk.

      

     The Economic and Trade Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Wuhan (WHETO), the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China-Wuhan today (September 1) jointly hosted the Seminar of Assisting the Hong Kong Enterprises in Hubei Province to Resume Work & Production and Explore Investment Opportunities in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The Director of the WHETO, Mr Vincent Fung; the Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province, Mr Hu Zhonghai; and the President of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China-Wuhan, Mr Tse Chun-ming, attended and addressed the seminar. The Vice President of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Dr Wong Chun, addressed the seminar online.
      
     The representatives of the Hong Kong enterprises in Hubei Province updated their situation in resuming work and production after the pandemic. The officials from the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Hubei, the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Hubei Province, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Hubei Province, the Hubei Provincial Tax Service and the Wuhan Municipal Commerce Bureau explained the preferential policies about resuming work and production, and responded to questions raised by the Hong Kong enterprises.
      
     In order to meet the requirement of the epidemic's prevention, the number of Hong Kong enterprises attending the seminar onsite was limited. At the same time, other attendees joined the seminar by watching the event's live broadcast, including representatives of Hong Kong enterprises in Hubei Province and Hong Kong businessmen who are interested about the business environment and investment opportunities in Hubei. More than 130 guests attended the seminar online and onsite.

          

     The Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) was launched today (September 1), with all the 141 community testing centres operating smoothly as a whole. A total of about 126 000 people attended and registered at the centres for specimen taking. Appropriate infection control and social distancing measures have been put in place at various testing centres, ensuring that the testing is safe, convenient and quick.
      
     A Government spokesman said that as at 8pm today, over 674 000 people have made successful online appointment since the online booking system commenced operation on August 29.
      
     "As certain community testing centres have been fully booked, the Government, after assessing the situation, has decided to increase the quota of these centres starting from September 3. Members of the public can make online appointments for these centres tomorrow (September 2)," the spokesman said.
      
     "Members of the public are encouraged to make online booking for the testing and then take the test at the community testing centres at the appointment time."
      
     Today, at the various community testing centres, about 2 000 healthcare personnel were deployed to collect specimens, while the administrative duties were undertaken by some 2 400 government employees.

          

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, on the Universal Community Testing Programme at a media session this afternoon (September 1):
 
Reporter: First, we do see a sign that some of the testing centres may be fully booked, but then many people ended up not going. So what do you have to say to these people who didn't show up? And are you expecting a great discrepancy between the actual sign up numbers and the participation numbers? And is it likely that in the end the actual participation rate is quite low?
 
     Second question, with regard to the increased quota for these testing centres. Will the quota be increased across the board for all testing centres or will it be for the more popular ones? And would more people going for test and in each session, will that actually increase the risk and how are the authorities going to handle that increased risk in a way?
 
     Third question, will the Government be extending the scheme to perhaps next week too? And because those were enthusiastic to get tested, they probably have signed up already. So, will the Government roll out any initiative to may be encourage participation more? Because the number seem to be not going up as rapidly as we think it would be. Thank you.
 
Secretary for the Civil Service: Thank you very much. Three questions. As regard the first one, actually the turn up rate is pretty good today. It is more than 90 per cent, so people who made the booking actually turned up and received the testing. 
 
     Second question is about the increase in quotas. Basically, we reviewed the operational experience today, and also assessed the throughput made by the medical and healthcare team. And we come to the view that there is room for further increase in the total capacity. Hence, we will increase the number of quotas available for booking across the board for all centres. So particularly for those centres that already fully booked for the seven days, starting from September 3 onwards, there would be more booking quotas available. So people could actually go online tomorrow and can find that for those fully booked centres, there would be places available. So I appeal for early booking for those who are interested in receiving the test.
 
     The third one, about the risk, as you can see, the testing centres basically are very spacious, have good ventilation and good social distancing measures. The healthcare teams are all equipped with adequate personal protective equipment. So all the arrangements suggested that actually the risk is minimal. We considered that even with the increase in quota, it should be very suitable for conducting the testing.
 
     As regards whether the programme will be extended for beyond seven days, we would closely monitor and review the operational experience today and tomorrow. And then we will make an assessment. As you mentioned, those who are very keen to receive the test would probably sign up. There might be people who are hesitant, worried about the process, whether it would be very painful, or receiving some sort of information that is not accurate. But I am sure that by observing the actual operation today, I hope that they would come forward and sign up early. So we would closely monitor the situation, the operational experience today and tomorrow, and then we will make a decision.

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

     A Government spokesman said today (September 1) that the second tranche of the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) had received, up to 6pm today, a total of around 83 000 applications from employers and over 6 000 from self-employed persions (SEPs) since the commencement of the two-week application period yesterday (August 31). Among the employers' applications received so far, about 95 per cent of the employer applicants had successfully applied for the first tranche of the ESS.   

     The spokesman said, "Eligible employers and SEPs wishing to apply for the second tranche of wage subsidies under the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) should submit their applications before 11.59pm on September 13 (Sunday), the deadline for application, through the ESS portal at www.ess.gov.hk."

     "We will expeditiously process all the applications received. Most eligible employers who have provided accurate and complete information are expected to receive wage subsidies in three to four weeks after submission of their application."

     Upon completion of the processing of applications, the ESS Secretariat will inform successful applicants of the results via SMS and email. Applicants can log in to the ESS portal to check the amount of subsidy granted and the committed paid headcount for the months of September to November 2020.

     In addition, SEPs with "MPF self-employed person" accounts which have not been terminated as of March 31 can also submit applications for the $7,500 one-off lump sum subsidy during the application period for the second tranche of the ESS if they have not received the subsidy in the first tranche.
  
     For enquiries, please send an email to enquiry@employmentsupport.hk or call the ESS hotline (1836 122). The service hours of the hotline are as follows:
 

 
     Applicants who need assistance in completing their online applications may call the ESS hotline to make appointments with the following three ESS Help Desks during the application period.
 
• North Point Help Desk at Room 1701, A T Tower, 180 Electric Road, North Point;
• Kwun Tong Help Desk at Room 2507, Prosperity Center, 25 Chong Yip Street, Kwun Tong; and
• Tsuen Wan Help Desk at Room 1206, Chinachem Tsuen Wan Plaza, 455 Castle Peak Road – Tsuen Wan.
 
     The service hours of the ESS Help Desks are as follows:
 

 
     The service hours of the ESS hotline and the Help Desks will remain in service from Monday to Friday (9am to 6pm) to answer enquiries beyond the application period.