The following is issued on behalf of the Town Planning Board:

     In line with the extension of special work arrangements for government employees in response to the latest situation of COVID-19, the Town Planning Board (TPB) announced today (July 31) that the Secretariat will continue to maintain provision of essential services for the public until further notice.

     Members of the public can continue to place their submissions made under the Town Planning Ordinance in the drop-in box located at the TPB Secretariat's reception counter on 15/F, North Point Government Offices, during office hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday), while other counter services will be temporarily suspended. Members of the public can make enquiries through the telephone hotline (2231 4810) or email (tpbpd@pland.gov.hk), and can visit the TPB's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb) for statutory planning information.

     Posting of site notices for planning applications will continue to be suspended.

     The meeting of the Metro Planning Committee (MPC) and the Rural and New Town Planning Committee (RNTPC) of the TPB originally scheduled for August 7 will be rescheduled. For any further rescheduling of TPB, MPC or RNTPC meetings, please visit the TPB's website for the latest updates.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on phishing emails, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the emails concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the emails should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

The following press release 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 until August 9, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today (July 31) that the following arrangements will be implemented next week until August 9 (Sunday) to provide emergency and essential services to members of the public:
 

• All Estate Management Offices (EMOs) of public housing estates will be open from 10am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday over this period to provide essential management services for public housing estates and handle cases with prior appointments. For enquiries outside the opening hours or emergency services, residents may call the contact telephone numbers provided by the respective EMOs, and staff will render assistance as much as practicable. EMOs' shroff offices will be closed, and residents are advised to heed the notices placed at the EMOs. They can also pay rent at more than 1 000 locations, such as convenience stores and supermarkets. They may also make payments via the Payment by Phone Service (PPS). For details, please browse the following website: www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/public-housing/rent-related-matters/rent-payment-methods/index.html;
   
• The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Sales Unit at the HA Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu, the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme Sales Unit in Kwun Tong as well as other offices of related services will be temporarily closed;
   
• The White Form Secondary Market Scheme Unit (WSM) at the HA Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu and the HOS Secondary Market Scheme Unit (SMS) in Lung Cheung Office Block, Wong Tai Sin, will open from 10am to 1pm on Monday and Wednesday over this period to receive applications for the Letter of Nomination under the WSM and SMS;
   
• The Home Assistance Loan Unit (HALU) in Lung Cheung Office Block, Wong Tai Sin, will provide drop-in boxes to receive submissions in relation to matters under the Home Purchase Loan Scheme and the Home Assistance Loan Scheme. Applicants can place their submissions in the drop-in box located at the HALU from 10am to 1pm on Monday and Wednesday over this period. The HALU will issue receipts/acknowledgements of the submissions and take follow-up action in due course;
   
• All public rental housing application offices including the Lok Fu Customer Service Centre Office and the Sham Shui Po Housing Information Centre will be closed. All detailed vetting interviews will also be suspended;
   
• The Clearance Housing office and Redevelopment Sub-section offices (Pak Tin and Mei Tung) as well as the Public Housing Resources Management Sub-section will also be closed;
   
• The Shroff Office on the Ground Floor of the HA Headquarters will be open from 9.30am to 12.30pm from Monday to Friday over this period to provide limited services. 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; and
   
• Promotion activities in shopping centres under the Housing Authority will be suspended.
   

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

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 31) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 14 000 food samples tested were satisfactory except for five samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
 
     A CFS spokesman said about 1 000 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 4 400 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining about 8 600 (including about 8 100 taken from food imported from Japan) were collected to test radiation levels.
 
     The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygiene indicators, while the chemical tests included pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others.
 
     The samples comprised about 3 800 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 900 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 600 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 1 000 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 1 700 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 6 000 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
 
     The five unsatisfactory samples comprised a sample of bottled fruit juice drink contaminated with patulin, a boxed orange juice sample detected with excessive total bacterial count, an organic brown rice spaghetti sample detected with cadmium exceeding the legal limit, a sample of frozen green wrasse fillet detected with mercury exceeding the legal limit and a sample of lobster meat with crab paste found to contain sulphur dioxide that was not declared on its food label.
 
     The CFS has taken follow-up action on the unsatisfactory samples including informing the vendors concerned of the test results, instructing them to stop selling the affected food items and tracing the sources of the food items in question.
 
     The spokesman reminded the food trade to ensure that food for sale is fit for human consumption and meets legal requirements. Consumers should patronise reliable shops when buying food and maintain a balanced diet to minimise food risks.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for the Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) announced today (July 31) that a 91-year-old male patient confirmed with COVID-19 infection (case no: 1339) passed away this morning.
 
     The patient with chronic diseases was admitted to QMH on July 10 due to COVID-19. His condition continued to deteriorate. The patient eventually succumbed at 11.34am today.
 
     The Hospital was saddened about the passing away of the patient and would offer necessary assistance to his family.
 
     Including the above case, 27 COVID-19 confirmed patients have passed away in public hospitals so far.